Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980
3. Power to make orders detaining certain persons
(1) The Central Government or State Government or any officer of
the Central Government, not below the rank or a Joint Secretary to that
government specially empowered for the purposes of this section by that
government, or any officer of a State Government, not below the rank of a
Secretary to that government specially empowered for the purposes of this
section by that government, may, if satisfied, with respect to any person that
with a view to preventing him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the
maintenance of supplies of the commodities essential to the community it is
necessary so to do, make an order directing that such person be detained.
Explanation : For the purposes of this sub-section, the
expression "acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of
supplies of commodities essential to the community" means-
(a) committing or instigating any person to commit any offence
punishable under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (10 of 1955) or under any
other law for the time being in force relating to the control of the
production, supply or distribution of, or trade and commerce in, any commodity
essential to the community; or
(b) dealing in any commodity-
(i) which is an
essential commodity as defined in the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (10 of
1955); or
(ii) with respect to which provisions have
been made in any such other law as is referred to in clause (a), with a view to
making gain in any manner which may directly or indirectly defeat or tend to
defeat the provisions of that Act or other law aforesaid.
(2) Any of the following officers, namely-
(a) District Magistrates;
(b) Commissioners of Police, wherever they
have been appointed,
may also, if satisfied as provided in sub-section (1), exercise the powers conferred
by the said sub-section.
(3) When any order is made under this section by an officer
mentioned in sub-section (2), he shall forthwith report the fact to the State
Government to which he is subordinate together with the grounds on which the
order has been made and such other particulars as in his opinion have a bearing
on the matter, and no such order shall remain in force for more than twelve
days after the making thereof unless in the meantime it has been approved by
the State Government:
PROVIDED that where under section 8 the grounds of
detention are communicated by the authority making the order after five days
but not later than ten days from the date of detention, this sub-section shall
apply subject to the modification that for the words "twelve days",
the words "fifteen days" shall be substituted.
(4) When any order is made or approved by the State Government under this section or when any order is made under this section by an officer of the State Government not below the rank of Secretary to that Government specially empowered under sub-section (1), the State Government shall, within seven days, report the fact to the Central Government together with the grounds on which the order has been made and such other particulars as, in the opinion of the State Government, have a bearing on the necessity for the order.