(Act VIII of
1897)
[11 March
1897 ]
An
Act to amend the law relating to Reformatory Schools and to make further
provision for dealing with youthful offenders.
WHEREAS
it is expedient to amend the law relating to Reformatory Schools and to make
further provision for dealing with youthful offenders;
It is
hereby enacted as follows:-
I—PRELIMINARY
[4][4][(3) This section and
section 2 shall extend to [5][5][the whole of Pakistan
2 and 3. [Repeals].
Repealed by the Repealing Act, 1938 (1 of
1938), section 2 and Schedule.
4. Definitions.— In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the
subject or context,—
(a) “youthful
offender” means any boy who has been convicted of any offence punishable with
transportation or imprisonment and who, at the time of such conviction, was
under the age of fifteen years :
(b) “Inspector-General”
includes any officer appointed by the [9][9][Provincial Government] to perform all or any of the duties
imposed by this Act on the Inspector-General: and
II—REFORMATORY SCHOOLS
5. Power to establish and discontinue
Reformatory Schools.—
[11][11][* * *] The [12][12][Provincial Government] may—
[11][11][* * *] The [12][12][Provincial Government] may—
(a) establish
and maintain Reformatory Schools at such places as it may think fit;
(b) use
as Reformatory Schools kept by persons willing to act in conformity with such
rules, consistent with this Act, as the [13][13][Provincial Government] may prescribe in this behalf;
(c) direct
that any school so established or used shall cease to exist as a Reformatory School or to be used as such.
6. Requisites of schools.— Every school so established or used must provide—
(a) sufficient
means of separating the inmates at night;
(b) proper
sanitary arrangements, water-supply, food, clothing and bedding for the
youthful offenders detained therein;
(c) the
means of giving such youthful offenders industrial training;
(d) an
infirmary or proper place for the reception of such youthful offenders when
sick.
7. Inspection
of Reformatory Schools.— (1) Every school intended to be established or used as a
Reformatory School shall, before being used as such, be inspected by the
Inspector-General, and if he finds that the requirements of section 6 have been
complied with, and that, in his opinion, such school is fitted for the
reception of such youthful offenders as may be sent there under this Act, he
shall certify to that effect, and such certificate shall be published in the [14][14][Official Gazette], together with an order of the [15][15][Provincial Government] establishing the school as a
Reformatory School or directing that it shall be used as such, and the school
shall thereupon be deemed to be a Reformatory School.
(2) Every such school shall, from time to
time, and at least once in every year, be visited by the said
Inspector-General, who shall send to the [16][16][Provincial Government] a report on the condition of the
school in such form as the [17][17][Provincial Government] may prescribe.
8. Power of Courts to direct youthful
offenders to be sent to Reformatory Schools.—
(1) Whenever any youthful offender is sentenced to transportation or
imprisonment, and is, in the judgment of the Court by which he is sentenced, a
proper person to be an inmate of a Reformatory School, the Court may, subject
to any rules made by the [18][18][Provincial Government], direct that, instead of undergoing
his sentence, he shall be sent to such a school, and be there detained for a
period which shall be not less than three or more than seven years.
(2) The powers so conferred on the court by
this section shall be exercised only by (a) the High Court, (b) a Court of
Session, (c) a District Magistrate, and (d) any Magistrate specially empowered
by the [19][19][Provincial Government] in this behalf, and may be
exercised by such Courts whether the case comes before them originally or on
appeal.
[21][21](a) defining what
youthful offenders should be sent to Reformatory Schools, having regard to the
nature of their offences or other considerations, and
(b) regulating the periods for which youthful
offenders may be sent to such schools according to their ages or other
considerations.
9. Procedure where Magistrate is not
empowered to pass an order under section 8.—
(1) When any Magistrate not empowered to pass an order under the last foregoing
section is of opinion that a youthful offender convicted by him is a proper
person to be an inmate of a Reformatory School, he may, without passing
sentence, record such opinion and submit his proceedings and forward the
youthful offender to the Magistrate to whom he is subordinate.
(2) The Magistrate to whom the proceedings
are so submitted may make such further inquiry (if any) as he may think fit and
pass such sentence and order for the detention in a Reformatory School of the
youthful offender, or otherwise, as he might have passed if such youthful
offender had been originally tried by him.
10. Power of
Magistrates to direct boys under fifteen sentenced to imprisonment to be sent
to Reformatory Schools.—
The officer in charge of a prison in which a youthful offender is confined, in
execution of a sentence of imprisonment, may bring him, if he has not then
attained the age of fifteen years, before the District Magistrate within whose
jurisdiction such prison is situate; and such Magistrate may, if such youthful
offender appears to be a proper person to be an inmate of a Reformatory School,
direct that, instead of undergoing the residue of his sentence, he shall be
sent to a Reformatory School, and there detained for a period which shall be
subject to the same limitations as are prescribed by or under section 8, with
reference to the period of detention thereby authorised.
11. Preliminary
inquiry and finding as to age of youthful offender.— (1) Before directing any youthful offender to be sent to a
Reformatory School under section 8, section 9, or section 10, the Court or
Magistrate shall inquire into the question of his age and, after taking such
evidence (if any) as may be deemed necessary, shall record a finding thereon,
stating his age as nearly as may be.
(2) A similar inquiry shall be made and
finding recorded by every Magistrate not empowered to pass an order under
section 8 before submitting his proceedings and forwarding the youthful
offender to the District Magistrate as required by section 9, sub-section (1).
12. Government to
determine Reformatory School to which such offenders shall be sent.— Every youthful offender directed by a Court or Magistrate
to be sent to a Reformatory School shall be sent to such Reformatory School as
the [22][22][Provincial Government] may, by general or special order,
appoint for the reception of youthful offenders so dealt with by such Court or
Magistrate:
Provided
that, if accommodation in a Reformatory School
is not immediately available for such youthful offender, he may be detained in
the juvenile ward or such other suitable part of a prison as the [23][23][Provincial Government] may direct—
(a) until he can be sent to a Reformatory School , or
(b) until the term of his original sentence
expires,
whichever event may first happen. Should the term of his
original sentence first expire, he shall thereupon be released, but should he
be sent to a Reformatory School, then the period of detention previously
undergone shall be treated as detention in a Reformatory
School .
13. Persons found to
be over eighteen years not to be detained in Reformatory Schools.— (1) If at any time after a youthful offender has been sent
to a Reformatory School it appears to the Committee of Visitors or Board of
Management, as the case may be, that the age of such youthful offender has been
understated in the order for detention, and that he will attain the age of
eighteen years before the expiration of the period for which he has been
ordered to be detained, they shall report the case for the orders of the [24][24][Provincial Government].
(2) No person shall be detained in a Reformatory School after he has been found by the [25][25][Provincial Government] to have attained the age of eighteen
years.
14. Discharge
or removal by order of Government.— The [26][26][Provincial Government] may at any time order any
youthful offender—
(a) to
be discharged from a Reformatory School ;
(b) to be removed from one Reformatory
School to another such school situate within the territories
subject to such Government: Provided that the whole period of his detention in
a Reformatory School shall not be increased by such removal.
[27][27][15. Agreement between Provinces.— The Provincial Governments of any two Provinces may after
mutual agreement, generally or specially, notify in their respective Official
Gazettes that any Reformatory School situated in one of the Provinces shall be
available for the reception of youthful offenders directed to be sent to a
Reformatory School by any Court or Magistrate in the other Province and may
thereupon make provisions for the removal of youthful offenders accordingly].
16. Certain orders
not subject to appeal or revision.—
Nothing contained in the [28][28]Code of Criminal Procedure, 1882, shall be construed to
authorise any Court or Magistrate to alter or reverse in appeal or revision any
order passed with respect to the age of a youthful offender or the substitution
of an order for detention in a Reformatory School for transportation or
imprisonment.
III—MANAGEMENT OF REFORMATORY SCHOOLS
17. Appointment of
Superintendent and Committee of Visitors or Board of Management.— (1) For the control and management of every Reformatory School , the [29][29][Provincial Government] shall appoint either (a) a
Superintendent and a Committee of Visitors, or (b) a Board of Management.
(2) Every Committee and every Board so
appointed must consist of not less than five persons[30][30][.] [31][31][* * *]
(3) The [32][32][Provincial Government] may suspend or remove any
Superintendent or any Member of a Committee or Board so appointed.
18. Superintendent
may license youthful offenders to employers of labour.— (1) Every Superintendent so appointed
may, with the sanction of the Committee, by license under his hand, permit any
youthful offender sent to a Reformatory School, who has attained the age of
fourteen years, to live under the charge of any trust-worthy and respectable
person named in the license, or any officer of Government or of a Municipality,
being an employer of labour and willing to receive and take charge of him, on
the condition that the employer shall keep such youthful offender employed at
some trade, occupation or calling.
(2) The license shall be in force for three
months and no longer, but may, at any time and from time to time until the
expiration of the period for which the youthful offender has been directed to
be detained, be renewed for three months at a time.
19. Cancellation of
license.— The license shall be cancelled at
the desire of the employer named in the license.
20. Determination of
license.— If during the term of the license
the employer named therein dies, or ceases from business or to employ labour,
or the period for which the youthful offender has been directed to be detained
in the Reformatory School expires, the license
shall thereupon cease and determine.
21. Cancellation of
license in case of ill-treatment.—
If it appears to the Superintendent that the employer has ill-treated the
youthful offender, or has not adequately provided for his lodging and
maintenance, the Superintendent may cancel the license.
22. Superintendent
to be deemed guardian of youthful offenders.—
(1) The Superintendent of a Reformatory School
shall be deemed to be the guardian of every youthful offender detained in such
school, within the meaning of [33][33]Act No. XIX of 1850 (concerning
the binding of apprentices).
Power to apprentice youthful offender.—
(2) If it appears to the Superintendent that any youthful offender licensed
under section 18 has behaved well during one or more periods of his license,
the Superintendent may, with the sanction of the Committee, apprentice him
under the provisions of the said Act, and on such apprenticement the right to
detain such youthful offender in a Reformatory School shall cease, and the
unexpired term (if any) of his sentence shall be cancelled.
23. Duties of
Committee of Visitors.—
(1) Every Committee of Visitors appointed under section 17 for a Reformatory School shall, at least once in every month—
(a) visit
the school, to hear complaints and see that the requirements of section 6 have
been complied with, and that the management of the school is proper in all
respects;
(b) examine
the punishment-book;
(c) bring
any special cases to the notice of the Inspector-General; and
(d) see
that no person is illegally detained in the school.
(2) If any member of a Committee of Visitors
so appointed fails or neglects, during a period of six consecutive months, to
visit the school and assist in the discharge of the duties aforesaid, he shall
cease to be a member of such Committee.
24. Powers of Board
of Management.— If, in exercise
of the power conferred by section 17, the [34][34][Provincial Government] appoints a Board of Management for
any Reformatory School, such Board shall have the powers and perform the
functions of the Superintendent under sections 18 to 22, both inclusive; and
the license mentioned in sections 18 may be under the hand of their chairman;
and they shall be deemed to be the guardians of the youthful offenders detained
in such school.
25. Power to appoint
Trustees or other Managers of a school to be a Board of Management.— The [35][35][Provincial Government] may declare any body of Trustees or
Managers of a school, who are willing to act in conformity with the rules
referred to in section 5, clause (b), to be a Board of Management under this
Act, and thereupon such body or Managers shall have all the powers and perform
all the functions of such Board of Management.
26. Power
of Board to make rules.— (1) With the previous sanction of the [36][36][Provincial Government], every Board of Management of a
Reformatory School may from time to time make rules consistent with this Act—
(i) to prescribe the articles which are to be
deemed to be “prohibited articles”; and
(ii) to regulate—
(a) the conduct of business of the Board;
(b) the management of the school;
(c) the education and industrial training of youthful offenders;
(d) visits to, and communication with, youthful offenders;
(e) the terms and conditions under which any articles declared by the
Board to be “prohibited articles” may be introduced into or removed out of the
school;
(f) the manner in which such articles are to be removed when
introduced without due authority;
(g) the conditions and limitations under which such articles may be
supplied outside the school to any youthful offender under order of detention
therein;
(h) the conditions on which the possession by any such youthful
offender of such articles may be sanctioned;
(i) the penalties to be imposed for the supply or possession of such
articles when supplied or possessed without due authority;
(j) the punishment of offences committed by youthful offenders; and
(k) the granting of licenses for the employment of youthful offenders.
(2) In the absence of a Board of Management
the [37][37][Provincial
Government] may make rules consistent with this Act to regulate for any
Reformatory School the matters mentioned in any clause of sub-section (1),
other than clause (ii) (a), and also the mode in which the Committee of
Visitors shall conduct their business.
IV—OFFENCES IN RELATION
TO REFORMATORY SCHOOLS
27. Penalty for
introduction or removal or supply of prohibited articles and communication with
youthful offenders.—
Whoever, contrary to any rule made under section 26, introduces or removes or
attempts by any means whatever to introduce or remove into or from any
Reformatory School, or supplies or attempts to supply outside the limits of any
Reformatory School to any youthful offender under order of detention therein,
any prohibited article,
and every
officer or person in charge of a Reformatory School who, contrary to any such
rule, knowingly suffers any such article to be introduced into or removed from
any Reformatory School, to be possessed by any youthful offender detained
therein, or to be supplied to any such youthful offender outside its limits,
and
whoever, contrary to any such rule, communicates or attempts to communicate
with any such youthful offender,
and whoever
abets any offence made punishable under this section,
shall, on conviction before a Magistrate, be liable to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to fine not exceeding two
hundred rupees, or to both.
28. Penalty for
abetting escape of youthful offender.—
Whoever abets an escape, or an attempt to escape, on the part of a youthful
offender from a Reformatory School, or from the employer of such youthful
offender, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to
six months, or with fine not exceeding two hundred rupees, or with both.
29. Arrest of
escaped youthful offender.—
A Police-officer may, without orders from a Magistrate and without a warrant,
arrest any youthful offender sent to a Reformatory School under this Act, who
has escaped from such school or from his employer, and take him back to such
school or to his employer.
V—MISCELLANEOUS
30. [Application
of Act XIV of 1869 to youthful offenders detained in Reformatory Schools].
Repealed by the Prisoners Act, 1900 (III of 1900), section 53 and Schedule III.
31. Power to deal in
other ways with youthful offenders including girls.— (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or in
any other enactment for the time being in force, any Court may, if it shall
think fit, instead of sentencing any youthful offender to transportation or
imprisonment or directing him to be detained in a Reformatory School, order him
to be
(a) discharge
after due admonition, or
(b) delivered
to his parent or to his guardian or nearest adult relative, on such parent,
guardian or relative executing a bond, with or without sureties, as the Court
may require, to be responsible for the good behaviour of the youthful offender
for any period not exceeding twelve months.
(2) For the purposes of this section the
term “youthful offender” shall include a girl.
(3) The powers conferred on the Court by
this section shall be exercised only by Courts empowered by or under section 8.
(4) When any youthful offender is convicted
by a Court not empowered to Act under this section and the Court is of opinion
that the powers conferred by this section should be exercised in respect of
such youthful offender, it may record such opinion and submit the proceedings
and forward the youthful offender to the District Magistrate to whom such Court
is subordinate.
(5) The District Magistrate to whom the
proceedings are so submitted may thereupon make such order or pass such
sentence as he might have made or passed if the case had originally been tried
by him.
32. Procedure when youthful offender under
detention in a Reformatory School is again convicted and sentenced.—
When a youthful offender during his period of detention in a Reformatory School
is again convicted by a Criminal Court, the sentence of such Court shall
commence at once, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 397 of
the [38][38]Code of Criminal Procedure, 1882,
but the Court shall forthwith report the matter to the [39][39][Provincial Government], which shall
have power to deal with the matter in any way in which it thinks fit.
[1][1]For
statement of objects and reasons, see Gazette
of India, 1896, Pt. V, p. 187; for Report of the Select Committee, see ibid., 1397, Pt. VI p. 55; and for
Proceedings in Council see ibid.,
1896, Pt. V. pp. 222 and 251; and ibid.,
1896, Pt. VI, pp. 44 and 68.
This Act had been declared to be in force in Baluchistan by the British Baluchistan Laws Regulation,
1913 (II of 1913), section 3 and Schedule I.
It had also been extended to the Leased Areas
of Baluchistan, see the Leased Areas
(Laws) Order, 1950 (G.G.O. 3 of 1950); and applied in the Federated Areas of
Baluchistan, see Gazette of India,
1937, Pt. I, p. 1499.
[2][2]The word
“and” at the end of sub-section (1), and sub-section (2), repealed by the
Repealing and Amending Act, 1914 (X of 1914), section 3 and Schedule II.
[4][4]Substituted
by the Adaptation of Central Acts and Ordinances Order, 1949 (G.G.O. 4 of
1949), Schedule, for the original sub-section (3) as amended by the Government
of India
[5][5]Substituted
by the Central Laws (Statute Reform) Ordinance, 1960 (XXI of 1960), section 3
and 2nd Schedule, for “all the Provinces” (with effect from 14th October,
1955).
[6][6]Substituted
by the Central Adaptation of Laws Order, 1964 (P.O. 1 of 1964), Art. 2 and
Schedule, for certain words as amended by the Repealing and Amending Ordinance,
1961 (I of 1961), and the Central Laws (Adaptation) Order, 1961 (P.O. 1 of
1961).
[7][7]Substituted
by the Punjab Laws (Adaptation) Order, 1974 (Pb. A. O. 1 of 1974), for “West Pakistan ”.
[9][9]Substituted
by the Government of India
(Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937 as amended by the Government of India
[10][10]Clause (c)
omitted by the Adaptation of Central Acts and Ordinances Order, 1949 (G.G.O. 4
of 1949), Schedule.
[11][11]The words
“with the previous sanction of the G.G. in C”. Repealed by the Decentralization
Act, 1914 (IV of 1914), section 2 and Schedule, Pt. I.
[12][12]Substituted
by the Government of India
(Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937 as amended by the Government of India
[13][13]Substituted
by the Government of India
(Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937 as amended by the Government of India
[18][18]Substituted
by the Government of India
(Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937 as amended by the Government of India
[21][21]For rules
made under this clause by the Punjab Government, see Punjab Gazette, dated the 2nd October, 1903, Extraordinary, p.
3.
[22][22]Substituted
by the Government of India
(Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937 as amended by the Government of India
[23][23]Substituted
by the Government of India
(Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937 as amended by the Government of India
[27][27]Substituted
by the Government of India
(Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937 as amended by the Government of India
[29][29]Substituted
by the Government of India
(Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937 as amended by the Government of India
[32][32]Substituted
by the Government of India
(Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937 as amended by the Government of India
[34][34]Substituted
by the Government of India
(Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937 as amended by the Government of India
[36][36]Substituted
by the Government of India
(Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937 as amended by the Government of India
[37][37]Substituted
by the Government of India
(Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937 as amended by the Government of India
[39][39]Substituted
by the Government of India
(Adaptation of Indian Laws) Order, 1937 as amended by the Government of India
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