5. The following new Part is hereby added at the end of the principal enactment: -
| 12.
| | (1) Where circumstances endangering the Public security in any area have arisen or are imminent and the Prime Minister is of the opinion that the police are inadequate to deal with such situation in that area, he may, by Order published in the Gazette, call out all or any of the members of all or any of the armed forces for the maintenance of public order in that area. Cap. 20. | | |
| | (2) The members of any of the armed forces who are called out by Order made under subsection (1) for the purpose of maintaining public order in any area shall for such purpose have the powers, including the powers of search and arrest, conferred on police officers by any provision of this Part or of any other written law, other than the powers specified in Chapter XII of the Criminal Procedure Code : | | |
| | (3) In any area in respect of which an Order is made under subsection (1), section 99 of the Criminal Procedure Code shall have effect as if the expression "peace officer" occurring therein includes any member of the armed forces who is called out by such Order and who is of a rank not below that of Sergeant of the Ceylon Army or Royal Ceylon Air Force or of Petty Officer of the Royal Ceylon Navy. Cap. 357. | | |
| | (4) Where any member of the Ceylon Army who is not an officer or a soldier of the Regular Force is called out by Order made under subsection (1), he shall, within the meaning and for the purposes of the Army Act, be deemed to be on active service and to be a person subject to military law. Cap. 358. | | |
| | (5) Where any member of the Royal Ceylon Navy who is not an officer or a seaman of the Regular Naval Force is called out by Order made under subsection (1), he shall, within the meaning and for the purposes of the Navy Act, be deemed to be on active service and to be a person subject to naval law. Cap. 359. | | |
| | (6) Where any member of the Royal Ceylon Air Force who is not an officer or airman of the Regular Air Force is called out by Order made under subsection (1), he shall, within the meaning and for the purposes of the Air Force Act, be deemed to be on active service and to be a person subject to that Act. | | |
| | (7) Any member of the armed forces who is called out by Order made under subsection (1) shall remain so called out until the expiry or rescission of that Order. | | |
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| 13. Any police officer, or any member of the armed forces who is called out by Order made under section 12, may, if a written authorization to do so is issued to him by the Prime Minister or by any person appointed by the Prime Minister to act on behalf of the Prime Minister under this section, seize and remove any gun or explosive in the possession of any person in the area to which such Order applies and keep it in such custody as may be determined by the person issuing such authorization, and may, for the purpose of seizing and removing any gun or explosive, enter, with such assistants as may be necessary, any premises or place in such area and search such premises or place and any person present therein. |
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| 14.
| | (1) Any police officer may remove any offensive weapon or any offensive substance which any person, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, has in his possession or under his control in any public place in any area to which an Order made under section 12 applies. | | |
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| 15. Any article or substance which is seized and removed under section 13 or section 14 from any person in any area to which an Order made under section 12 applies shall, unless legal proceedings are taken against that person for any offence to which he is liable in respect of that article or substance, be returned to him forthwith after the expiry or rescission of such Order. |
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| 16.
| | (1) Where the Prime Minister considers it necessary to do so for the maintenance of public order in any area, he may, by Order published in the Gazette, direct that, subject to such exemption as may be made by that Order or by any subsequent Order made under this section, no person in such area shall, between such hours as may be specified in the Order, be on any public road, railway, public park, public recreation ground or other public ground or the seashore except under the authority of a written permit granted by such person as may be specified in the Order. | | |
| | (2) In subsection (1), "public road" includes any roadway over a public bridge, any pavement, drain, embankment or ditch belonging or appertaining to a public road. | | |
| | (3) If any person contravenes an Order made under this section, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction after summary trial before a Magistrate, be liable to rigorous imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to a fine not exceeding one hundred rupees or to both such imprisonment and fine. | | |
| | (4) Where a person accused of the offence of contravening an Order made under this section is ordered by the court to be released on bail or on his executing a bond without sureties for his appearance in court, the amount of the bail bond or of the bond without sureties shall not exceed five hundred rupees. | | |
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| 17.
| | (1) Where the Prime Minister considers it necessary in the public interest to do so for the maintenance of any service which, in his opinion, is essential to the life of the community, he may, by Order published in the Gazette, declare that service to be an essential service. | | |
| | (2) Where any service is declared by Order made under subsection (1) to be an essential service,-
| | | (a) any person who, on the day immediately preceding the date of publication of that Order in the Gazette, was engaged or employed, or who, after that day, is engaged or employed, on any work in connexion with that service shall be guilty of an offence if he fails or refuses to attend at his place of work or employment or at such other place as may from time to time be designated by his employer or a person acting under the authority of his employer, or if he fails or refuses to perform such work as he may be directed by his employer or by a person acting under the authority of his employer to perform ; or |
| (b) any person who, by violence to person or property, or by spoken or written threat, intimidation or insult of any kind to whomsoever addressed or by molestation of any description, or in any other manner whatsoever-
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| (c) any person who, by any physical act or by any speech or writing, incites, induces or encourages any other person to commit any act specified in paragraph (b) of this subsection (whether or not such other person commits in consequence any act so specified), |
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| | (3) Where a person is prosecuted for an offence under paragraph (a) of subsection (2), it shall be a defence for him to prove that he was prevented from attending at his place of work or employment owing to illness or owing to the fact that transport facilities were not available for him to travel to such place. | | |
| | (4) Every person who commits an offence under this section shall, on conviction after summary trial before a Magistrate, be liable to rigorous imprisonment for a term not less than three months and not exceeding five years or to a fine not less than five hundred rupees and not exceeding five thousand rupees or to both such imprisonment and fine. | | |
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| 18. Any police officer may arrest without warrant any person who is committing or has committed or whom he has reasonable ground for suspecting to be committing or to have committed any offence under section 16 or section 17. |
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| 19. Section 15b of the Criminal Procedure Code and section 6 of the Payment of Fines (Courts of Summary Jurisdiction) Ordinance shall not apply to any person convicted of an offence under section 16 or section 17. |
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| 20. Any person arrested by any member of the armed forces who is called out by Order made under section 12 shall without unnecessary delay be delivered to the custody of a police officer to be dealt with according to law. |
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| 21.
| | (1) An Order made under section 12, section 16 or section 17 shall be in operation for a period of one month from the date of its publication in the Gazette, but without prejudice to the earlier rescission of that Order or to the making of a further Order at or before the end of that period. | | |
| | (2) The provisions of subsection (3) of section 2 shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to an Order made under section 12, section 16 or section 17 in like manner as they apply to a Proclamation made under subsection (1) of section 2. | | |
| | (3) An Order made under section 12, section 16 or section 17, or the circumstances necessitating the making of such Order, shall not be called in question in any court. | | |
| | (4) An Order made under section 12, section 16 or section 17 may be amended or rescinded by resolution of the House of Representatives or by another Order made under that section. | | |
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| 22. The provisions of this Part and of any Order made under section 12, section 16 or section 17 shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith or contrary thereto contained in any other law. |
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| 23. No prosecution or other criminal proceeding against any person for any act purporting to be done under any provision of this Part or of any Order made thereunder shall be instituted in any court except by, or with the written sanction of, the Attorney-General; and no suit, prosecution or other proceeding, civil or criminal, shall lie against any person for any act in good faith done in pursuance or supposed pursuance of any such provision. |
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| 24. In this Part- " armed forces " mean the Ceylon Army, the Royal Ceylon Navy and the Royal Ceylon Air Force ; Cap. 183. " explosive " shall have the same meaning as in the Explosives Act; and Cap. 182. " gun " shall have the same meaning as in the Firearms Ordinance.". |
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Sri Lanka Consolidated Acts