[Home]
[Databases]
[WorldLII]
[Search]
[Feedback]
Pakistan (Punjab) Legislation |
[Database Search] [Name Search] [Noteup] [Help]
PROVINCIAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE
(Pb Act II of
1972)
C O N T E N T S
Sections
1. Short title and commencement.
2. Definitions.
3. Members not liable to civil or criminal action.
4. Freedom from detention.
5. [Repealed.]
6. Attendance of a member detained or arrested on a bailable charge.
7. No process to be served in the Assembly.
8. No attachment of salaries and allowances.
9. Non-liability for removing persons infringing rules.
10. Summoning of witnesses.
11. Penalty for causing disturbance in the precincts of the Assembly.
12. No prosecution except on complaint under order of the Speaker.
13. Withdrawal of proceeding.
14. Cognizance of offences.
15. Members to be V.I.Ps.
15-A. Official plate for vehicle
16. Accommodation in circuit houses, etc.
17. Visit to hospitals etc.
18. Inspection of Jails by members.
19. Indemnity.
[1]THE PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY OF THE
(Pb Act II of 1972)
[
An Act to
provide for privileges of the Provincial Assembly of the
Preamble.— WHEREAS Article 118 of the Interim Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan inter alia provides that the privileges of members of a Provincial Assembly may be defined by Act of the Provincial Legislature;
AND,
WHEREAS it is expedient to define the privileges of the Provincial Assembly of
the Punjab, its members and committees, and
of the person entitled to speak and
otherwise take part in the proceedings of the Assembly, and to provide for
matters incidental
and supplemental thereto;
It is hereby enacted as follows:-
1. Short title and commencement.— (1) This Act may be called the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab Privileges Act, 1972.
(2) It shall come into force on the date when the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab Privileges Ordinance, 1972, ceases to operate in accordance with the provisions of clause (2) (a) of Article 135 of the Interim Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
2. Definitions.— (1) In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,—
(a) “Assembly” means the Provincial Assembly of
the
(b) “Assembly Secretariat” means the Secretariat of the Assembly;
(c) “Committee” means a committee appointed by the Assembly, and includes a Standing Committee and a Select Committee of the Assembly;
(d) “Constitution” means the Interim Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan;
(e) “Government” means the Government of the
(f) “Governor” means the Governor of the
(g) “Member” means a member of the Assembly and includes the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and a Minister;
(h) “precincts
of the Assembly” means the Assembly Chamber’s building courtyard and gardens
appurtenant thereto, and includes the hall,
members’ lobbies, galleries, rooms
of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Ministers and other officers of the Government
located in the
Assembly building, committee rooms and the officers of the
Assembly Secretariat [2][and any other premises which are notified as such
for a specified time by the Speaker in the official Gazette;]
(i) “Rules of procedure” means the rules regulating the procedure of the Assembly for the time being in force; and
(j) “Speaker” means the Speaker of the Assembly.
(2) Save as otherwise provided in this Act or where the context otherwise requires, all expressions used in this Act shall bear the same meanings as they bear in the constitution.
3. Members not liable to civil or criminal action.— Subject to the provisions of Article 118 of the Constitution, no civil or criminal proceedings shall lie against any member by reason of any matter or thing which he may have brought up or given notice of his intention to bring up before the Assembly or any Committee thereof by bill, resolution, motion, question or, otherwise, and notwithstanding such resolution, motion, bill, question or other thing being disallowed or not having been admitted by the Speaker.
4. Freedom from detention.— (1) No member shall be detained under any Provincial law relating to preventive detention or be required to appear in person in any civil or Revenue Court, or before any Commission [3][* * *] during a session of the Assembly and for a period of fourteen days before and fourteen days after the session of the Assembly, and no member of a Committee shall be so detained or required to appear before such Court, [4][or Commission] during a sitting of the Committee and for a period of three days before and three days after the meeting of the Committee.
(2) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall be construed as—
[5][(a) applying to any member detained under any such law as is referred to therein—
(i) at any time during
the period commencing on the fifteenth day next after the conclusion of a
session of the Assembly and ending
on the fifteenth day before the commencement
of the next session; or
(ii) for reasons of State connected with defence,
external affairs, or the security of
(b) precluding a member from being detained under any such law during any time that the Assembly is not in session and for a period of fifteen days before and fifteen days after the session for any act against such law committed by him during the period that the Assembly is in session or during the period of fifteen days before and fifteen days after the session or at any other time.
[6][5. * * * * * *
* * * * * *]
6. Attendance of a member detained or arrested
on a bailable charge.— If a member is arrested or detained on any
criminal charge and the Court before which any case relating to such charge is
pending
against such member, is duly informed by the member that he has been
summoned to attend any session of the Assembly or a meeting
of any Committee
thereof, such Court shall, if the charge against such member relates to a bailable offence, release such member on his personal
recognizance in sufficient time to enable him to attend the session of the
Assembly
or a meeting of any Committee thereof, as the case may be:
Provided that the provisions of this section shall not be construed as exempting any such member from attending such Court on the day or days which the Court may in usual course fix for the trial of the case against such member.
7. No process to be served in the Assembly.— No process, civil or criminal, shall be served upon a member within the precincts of the Assembly building except with the leave of the Speaker.
8. No attachment of salaries and allowances.— Salaries and allowances paid or payable to the members under any law for the time being in force shall not be liable to attachment in execution of a decree under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
9. Non-liability for removing persons infringing rules.— No action, civil or criminal, shall lie against any person for removing or excluding by order or authority of the Speaker of the Assembly, any person infringing the Rules of procedure or otherwise behaving in a disorderly manner within the precincts of the Assembly.
10. Summoning of witnesses.— (1) Subject to the provisions contained in sub-section (7), the Assembly or any Committee thereof may direct any person to appear before the Assembly or the Committee, as the case may be, and to produce or cause to be produced any paper, book, record or document in the possession or under the control of such person.
(2) Any order made under sub-section (1) shall be
notified to the person required to attend or to produce any paper, book, record
or
document, under the hand of the Secretary, by order of the Speaker or the
Chairman of a Committee, as the case may be, and in every
such order there
shall be stated the date, the time and the place where the person summoned is
required to attend or produce the
paper or other document.
(3) Such order shall be served by the delivery thereof to, or leaving at the usual or the last known place of residence of the person concerned, through the District magistrate within whose jurisdiction the said residence lies, who shall get it served by any person authorised by him in this behalf.
(4) Any person so summoned shall be entitled to receive, from the Secretary, such travelling and daily allowances as may be admissible under rules framed by Government in this behalf.
(5) The Assembly or any Committee thereof may
require any witness appearing before it to make an oath, and it shall be lawful
thereupon
for the Secretary or any person authorised
by the Speaker or the Chairman of the Committee, as the case may be, to
administer oath to such witness.
(6) Subject to the provisions contained in sub-section (7), if any person summoned to appear refuses or fails, without a reasonable cause, to appear or to produce or cause to be produced on requisition any paper, book, record or document, as the case may be, in his possession or power or under his control, he shall be punished with simple imprisonment which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.
(7) When Government is of opinion that in the interest of security of the State or the maintenance of public order or generally in the public interest or on account of any other sufficient reason, any particular record summoned from any office of or authority under Government, or set up or established by Government, should not be furnished to the Assembly or any Committee thereof, or a person in the service of the State should not be summoned or compelled to give evidence, the Government may claim privilege for that record or exemption for the public servant, as the case may be:
Provided that in such case the Assembly or the Committee thereof, as the case may be, may obtain orders of the Governor whether the privilege or exemption, as the case may be, is properly claimed, and the orders of the Governor in this behalf shall be final and conclusive on such point, and shall not be questioned in any Court.
Explanation— The powers and rights conferred on Government or
the Governor under this section shall in relation to any record summoned from
any office of or authority under the Central[7]
Government, or set up or established by that Government, or the summoning of
any person serving in connection with the affairs
of the Centre[8], be the powers and the rights of the Central[9] Government or the President, as the case may be.
11. Penalty for causing disturbance in the
precincts of the Assembly.—
Whoever, not being a member, creates any disturbance within the precincts of
the Assembly, whereby the proceedings of the Assembly,
or of a Committee
thereof are or are likely to be interrupted or obstructed, shall be punished
with imprisonment which may extend
to six months, or with fine which may extend
to one thousand rupees, or with both.
12. No prosecution except on complaint under
order of the Speaker.— No
prosecution shall lie under the provisions of this Act save on the complaint in
writing of the Secretary, made under the orders
of the Speaker and with the
concurrence of the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs.
13. Withdrawal of proceeding.— Notwithstanding anything to the contrary
contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, the Speaker may, in
pursuance of a
resolution of the Assembly, request the Court in which any
proceedings are pending in respect of a complaint made under section
12, to
drop further proceedings, and on receipt of such request, the Court shall drop
all further proceedings in regard to the
complaint, and the complaint shall be
deemed to have been withdrawn.
14. Cognizance
of offences.—
15. Members to be V.I.Ps.— The members shall be V.I.Ps.
[10][15-A.
Official plate for vehicle.- (1) A member shall be entitled to
display on his vehicle, for distinctive appellation, an official plate issued
by
the Assembly Secretariat along with jacket at Government expense.
(2) The official plate shall be used only on a specific vehicle, the
registration number of which shall be intimated to the Assembly Secretariat.
(3) The official plate shall be exhibited only when the member
himself is
present in the vehicle, and in all other cases it shall be covered by the
jacket provided along with the plate.
(4) The Assembly Secretariat shall, on satisfaction
that the vehicle has been
stolen or, the original plate has been rendered unserviceable on account of
accident or otherwise and
the original plate so damaged has been surrendered to
the Assembly Secretariat, issue a duplicate plate on payment of such charges
as
may be specified, from time to time, by the Speaker.
(5) In case of violation of sub-sections
(2) and (3) by a member, the Speaker
may restrict the use of official plate by such member and direct him to
surrender the official
plate to the Assembly Secretariat.
(6) On ceasing to hold office for
any reason whatsoever, the member shall
surrender the official plate to the Assembly Secretariat within three
days."]
16. Accommodation in circuit houses, etc.— A member shall, on previous intimation to the authority concerned and subject to the availability of accommodation, be entitled to accommodation in every circuit house, rest house and dak bungalow maintained by Government or any local body under the control of Government on payment of such amount as is charged from touring officer, while on duty for accommodation in such circuit house, rest house or dak bungalow, as the case may be.
17. Visit to hospitals etc.— (1) A member shall be entitled to visit hospitals, dispensaries, health centres, social welfare offices, educational institutions for boys located within his constituency with previous intimation.
(2) After such visit the member may submit his report to the Minister-in-charge.
18. Inspection
of Jails by members.— Every member of the Provincial Assembly of the
19. Indemnity.— No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against any person for anything in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.
[1]This Act was passed by the Punjab
Assembly on 28th July, 1972; assented to by the Governor of the Punjab on 28th
July, 1972; and,
published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 28th
July, 1972.
[2]Added by
the Provincial Assembly of the
[3]The words “or Election
Tribunal”, deleted by the Privileges of Members of the National and Provincial
Assemblies (Amendment) Act,
1977 (Federal Act XXI of 1977).
[4]Substituted ibid., for the words “Commissioner or
Tribunal”.
[5]Substituted by the Members of
Provincial Assemblies’ Privileges (Amendment) Act, 1975 (Federal Act XVIII of
1975).
[6]Omitted
by the Provincial Assembly of the
[7]Now “Federal”, see the Federal Adaptation of Laws Order,
1975 (P.O. 4 of 1975).
[8]Now “Federation”, see ibid.
[9]Now “Federal”, see ibid.
[10]Added by The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab Privileges (Amendment) Act, 2003 (XIV of 2003)
CommonLII:
Copyright Policy
|
Disclaimers
|
Privacy Policy
|
Feedback
URL: http://www.commonlii.org/pk/legis/pj/consol_act/paotppa1972437