{ "act_title": "The Civil Defence Act, 1952", "act_no": "XXXI", "act_year": "1952", "publication_date": "19/07/2025", "sections": [ { "section_content": "1. (1) This Act may be called theCivil Defence Act, 1952.(2) It extends to the whole of Bangladesh.(3) It shall come into force at once." }, { "section_content": "2[1A. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-(1) 'civil defence' includes any measures not amounting to actual combat, for affording defence against any form of hostile attack by a foreign power or for depriving any form of hostile attack by a foreign power of its effect wholly or in part, whether such measures are taken before, during or after the time of the attack;(2) 'Civil Defence Services' means the services formed wholly or mainly to meet the needs of civil defence.]" }, { "section_content": "2. (1) The Government may by notification in the official Gazette make such rules as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for securing the civil defence of Bangladesh.(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) such rules may provide for, or may empower any authority to make orders providing for, all or any of the following matters, namely:-(a) \tthe constitution, enrolment, discipline, powers, duties, privileges and protection of Civil Defence Services;(b) \tpreventing or prohibiting anything likely to assist the enemy or to prejudice the successful conduct of civil defence including acts, publications or communications prejudicial to civil defence;(c) \trequiring any person or class of persons to comply with any scheme of civil defence;(d) \tensuring the safety of any place or thing used or intended to be used for the purposes of Government or a local authority, the protection of which is considered necessary or expedient for securing civil defence;(e) \tthe control of lights, sounds and vehicles;(f) \tthe control of trade or industry for the purposes of regulating or increasing the supply of, and the obtaining of information with regard to, articles or things of any description whatsoever which may be used in connection with the conduct of civil defence;(g) \tthe provision, storage and maintenance of commodities and \tmaterial required for the conduct of civil defence;(h) \tthe provision, construction, maintenance or alteration of buildings, premises or other structures required for the conduct of civil defence;(i) \tthe measures for preventing and dealing with the outbreak of fire;(j) \tpreventing or controlling any use of uniforms, whether official or otherwise, flags, official decorations like medals, badges and other insignia and anything similar thereto, where such use is calculated or likely to deceive the public or to prejudice civil defence;(k) \tthe salvage of damaged buildings and property and disposal \tof the dead;(l) \tthe evacuation of areas and the removal of property or animals therefrom;(m)\tthe accommodation in any area of persons evacuated from another area and the regulation of the conduct of evacuated persons accommodated in such area;(n) \tthe billeting of evacuated persons;(o) \tthe instruction of members of the public in civil defence;(p) \tthe entry into, and search of, any place reasonably suspected of being used for any purpose prejudicial to civil defence and for the seizure and disposal of anything found there and reasonably suspected of being used for such purpose;(q) \tthe requisition of property and acquisition thereof.(3) The rules made under sub-section (1) may further-(a)\tprovide for the arrest and trial of persons contravening any of the rules or any order issued thereunder;(b)\tprovide that any contravention of, or any attempt to contravene, and any abetment of, or attempt to abet, the contravention of any of the provisions of the rules, or any order issued under any such provision, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine which may extend to five thousand3[taka], or with both;(c)\tprovide for the seizure, detention and forfeiture of any property in respect of which such contravention, attempt or abetment as is referred to in clause (b) has been committed;(d)\tprescribe the duties and powers of public servants and other persons as regards preventing the contravention of, or securing the observance of, the rules or any order issued thereunder;(e)\tprovide for preventing the obstruction and deception of, and disobedience to, any person acting, and interfering with any notice issued, in pursuance of the rules or of any order issued thereunder;(f)\tmake provision prohibiting attempts to screen from punishment any person contravening any of the rules or any order issued thereunder." }, { "section_content": "3. An authority or a person acting in pursuance of this Act shall interfere with the ordinary avocations of life and the enjoyment of property as little as may be consonant with the purpose of ensuring the public safety and interest and the defence of Bangladesh." }, { "section_content": "4. (1) No order made in exercise of any power conferred by or under this Act shall be called in question in any Court.(2) Where an order purports to have been made and signed by an authority in exercise of any power conferred by or under this Act, the Court shall, within the meaning of theEvidence Act, 1872, presume that such order was so made by that authority." }, { "section_content": "5. (1) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any rules made thereunder or any order issued under any such rule.(2) Save as otherwise expressly provided under this Act, no suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Government for any damage caused or likely to be caused by anything in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any rules made thereunder or any order issued under any such rule." }, { "section_content": "6. (1) Where under section 7 by or under any rule made under this Act any action is taken of the nature described in4[Article 42 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh], there shall be paid compensation, the amount of which shall be determined in the manner, and in accordance with the principles, hereinafter set out, that is to say:-(a) \tWhere the amount of compensation can be fixed by agreement, it shall be paid in accordance with such agreement.(b) \tWhere no such agreement can be reached, the Government shall appoint as arbitrator a person qualified for appointment as a Judge of5[the High Court Division.](c)\tThe Government may, in any particular case, nominate a person having expert knowledge of the kind of property which has been acquired, to be an assessor to assist the arbitrator, and where such nomination is made, the person to be compensated may also nominate an assessor for the said purpose.(d) \tAt the commencement of the proceedings before the arbitrator, the Government and the person to be compensated shall state what in their respective opinions is a fair amount of compensation.(e) \tThe arbitrator in making his award shall have regard to-(i)\tthe provisions of6[sub-section (1) of section 8 of theAcquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Ordinance, 1982(II of 1982)], so far as the same can be made applicable; and(ii)\twhether the acquisition is of a permanent or temporary character:Provided that where any property requisitioned under any rule made under this Act, is subsequently acquired under section 7 or any such rule, the arbitrator in any proceedings in connection with such acquisition shall, for the purposes of the provisions of the said section 23, take into consideration the market-value of the property at the date of its requisition as aforesaid and not at the date of its subsequent acquisition.(f) \tAn appeal shall lie to the7[High Court Division] against any award of an arbitrator except in cases where the amount awarded does not exceed an amount prescribed in this behalf by rule made by the Government.(g)\tSave as provided in this section and in any rules made thereunder, nothing in any law for the time being in force shall apply to arbitrations under this section.(2) \tThe Government may make rules for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this section.(3) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may prescribe-(a) the procedure to be followed in arbitrations under this section;(b) \tthe principles to be followed in apportioning the costs of proceedings before the arbitrator and on appeal;(c) \tthe maximum amount of an award against which no appeal shall lie." }, { "section_content": "7. (1) Without prejudice to any power to acquire property conferred by any rule made under this Act, any immovable property which has been requisitioned under any rule so made may in the manner provided by any such rules for the acquisition of the property, be acquired in the circumstances and by the Government hereinafter specified, namely:-(a) \twhere any works have, during the period of requisition, been constructed on, in or over the property wholly or partly at the expense of the Government, by the Government if it decides that the value of, or the right to use, such works shall, by means of the acquisition of the property be preserved or secured for the purposes of the Government; or(b) \twhere the cost to the Government of restoring the property to its condition at the time of its requisition as aforesaid would, in the determination of the Government, be excessive having regard to the value of the property at that time, by the Government;and at the beginning of the day on which notice of such acquisition is served or published under the aforesaid rules, the immovable property shall vest in the Government free from any mortgage, pledge, lien or similar encumbrance, and the period of the requisition thereof shall end.(2) Any decision or determination of the Government under sub-section (1) shall be final, and shall not be called in question in any Court.(3) For the purposes of this section, “works” includes buildings, constructions and improvements of the property, of every description." }, { "section_content": "8. (1) Where any property requisitioned under any rule made under this Act is to be released from such requisition, the Government8[* * *] or any person generally or specially authorised by it in this behalf may, after such enquiry, if any, as it or he may in any case consider it necessary to make or cause to be made, specify by order in writing the person to whom possession of the property shall be given.(2) The delivery of possession of the property to the person specified in an order under sub-section (1) shall be a full discharge of the Government from all liabilities in respect of the property, but shall not prejudice any rights in respect of the property which any other person may be entitled by due process of law to enforce against the person to whom possession of the property is given." }, { "section_content": "9. The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, direct that all or any of the powers or duties which under the provisions of this Act or rules made thereunder are conferred or imposed upon the Government shall be exercised or discharged by any officer or authority subordinate to it9[* * *]." }, { "section_content": "10. [Repeal of Ordinance VIII of 1951.- Omitted by section 3 and the Second Schedule of theBangladesh Laws (Revision And Declaration) Act, 1973(Act No. VIII of 1973).]" } ], "footnotes": [ { "footnote_text": "1Throughout this Act, the words “Bangladesh” and “Government” were substituted for the words “Pakistan” and “Central Government” respectively by section 3 and the Second Schedule of theBangladesh Laws (Revision And Declaration) Act, 1973(Act No. VIII of 1973)" }, { "footnote_text": "2Section 1A was inserted by the Civil Defence (Amendment) Act, 1966 (Act No. X of 1966)" }, { "footnote_text": "3The word “taka” was substituted for the word “rupees” by section 3 and the Second Schedule of theBangladesh Laws (Revision And Declaration) Act, 1973(Act No. VIII of 1973)" }, { "footnote_text": "4The words and figure “Article 42 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh ” were substituted for the words and figures “Paragraph 14 of Rights under Article 6 of the Constitution” by section 3 and the Second Schedule of theBangladesh Laws (Revision And Declaration) Act, 1973(Act No. VIII of 1973)" }, { "footnote_text": "5The words “the High Court Division” were substituted for the words “a High Court” by section 3 and the Second Schedule of theBangladesh Laws (Revision And Declaration) Act, 1973(Act No. VIII of 1973)" }, { "footnote_text": "6The words, brackets, figures and comma “sub-section (1) of section 8 of theAcquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Ordinance, 1982(II of 1982)” were substituted for the words, brackets and figures “sub-section (1) of section 23 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894” by section 3 and the Second Schedule of theBangladesh Laws (Revision And Declaration) Act, 1973(Act No. VIII of 1973)" }, { "footnote_text": "7The words “ High Court Division” were substituted for the words “ High Court” by section 3 and the Second Schedule of theBangladesh Laws (Revision And Declaration) Act, 1973(Act No. VIII of 1973)" }, { "footnote_text": "8The words “by which or under whose authority the property was requisitioned” were omitted by section 3 and the Second Schedule of theBangladesh Laws (Revision And Declaration) Act, 1973(Act No. VIII of 1973)" }, { "footnote_text": "9The words and commas “or by the Provincial Government; and the Provincial Government may, by a like notification, direct that all or any of the powers or duties as aforesaid, to be exercised or discharged by it, shall be exercised and discharged by any officer or authority subordinate to it” were omitted by section 3 and the Second Schedule of theBangladesh Laws (Revision And Declaration) Act, 1973(Act No. VIII of 1973)" } ], "copyright_info": { "copyright_text": "Copyright©2019, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs DivisionMinistry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs" }, "source_url": "http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/act-print-246.html", "fetch_timestamp": "2025-07-19 02:10:55", "csv_metadata": { "act_title_from_csv": "The Civil Defence Act, 1952", "act_no_from_csv": "XXXI", "act_year_from_csv": "1952", "is_repealed": false }, "token_count": 2358, "language": "english", "government_context": { "govt_system": "Dominion of Pakistan", "position_head_govt": "Governor-General of Pakistan", "head_govt_name": "Ghulam Muhammad", "head_govt_designation": "Governor-General of Pakistan", "how_got_power": "Constitutional appointment", "period_years": "1951-1955", "years_in_power": 4 }, "processing_info": { "processed_timestamp": "2025-07-19 19:33:21", "enhanced_with_reducer": true, "enhanced_with_govt_context": true, "language_detected": "english", "token_count": 2223, "legal_context_added": true, "legal_context_timestamp": "2025-07-19 20:26:26", "year_standardized": true, "year_standardization_timestamp": "2025-07-19 20:36:00", "token_count_updated": true, "token_count_update_timestamp": "2025-07-19 20:56:08", "previous_token_count": 2223, "accurate_token_count": 2358 }, "legal_system_context": { "period_info": { "period_name": "East Pakistan Period", "year_range": "1947-1971", "act_year": 1952 }, "legal_framework": { "primary_laws": [ "Government of India Act 1935 (adapted)", "Pakistan Constitution 1956", "Pakistan Constitution 1962" ], "court_system": [ "Dhaka High Court (1948)", "District Courts", "Federal Court/Supreme Court of Pakistan" ], "legal_basis": "Adapted British-Indian laws with Islamic provisions", "enforcement_mechanism": "Pakistani legal system" }, "government_system": { "type": "Federal Parliamentary (1947-1958), Presidential (1958-1971)", "structure": "Provincial government under federal system", "revenue_collection": "Federal and provincial taxation", "administrative_units": [ "Province", "Districts", "Thanas" ] }, "policing_system": { "law_enforcement": "East Bengal/East Pakistan Police", "military_police": "Pakistan Army and paramilitary forces", "jurisdiction": "Provincial police under federal oversight" }, "land_relations": { "tenure_system": "East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act 1950", "property_rights": "Abolition of zamindari system", "revenue_system": "Direct government land revenue", "peasant_status": "Farmers as direct tenants to state" }, "key_characteristics": [ "Zamindari abolition (1951)", "Language movement legal issues (1952)", "Military rule periods (1958-1971)", "Constitutional crises and martial law", "Bengali autonomy demands and legal frameworks" ], "context_added_timestamp": "2025-07-19 20:26:26" } }