Public Inquiries and the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1952
Chapter Forty-Seven
Syllabus topic 4.2, "Public Inquiries and Commissions of Inquiry"
Pages 279 to 284 of 396
In one line
When something goes badly wrong in public life, the Government appoints a commission to find out what happened, and the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1952 is the statute under which it does so.
In the words a student can write in an exam: the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1952 empowers the appropriate Government to appoint a Commission of Inquiry to inquire into any definite matter of public importance, either on its own motion or when a resolution of the legislature so requires. The Commission has the powers of a civil court for specified purposes, may require the production of documents and the attendance of witnesses, must give a person likely to be prejudicially affected an opportunity of being heard and a right of cross-examination and legal representation, and reports its findings to the Government. Its report is not a judgment: it binds nobody, creates no liability and is not enforceable, and its value lies in establishing facts and fixing responsibility for the information of the Government and the public.
The scheme of the Act, section by section
The Act is short, twelve numbered sections with several lettered insertions, and the whole of it is manageable.
| Section | Subject |
|---|---|
| 1 | Short title, extent and commencement |
| 2 | Definitions |
| 2A | Omitted |
| 3 | Appointment of Commission |
| 4 | Powers of Commission |
| 5 | Additional powers of Commission |
| 5A | Power of the Commission to utilise the services of certain officers |
| 5B | Power of the Commission to appoint assessors |
| 6 | Statements made by persons to the Commission |
| 6A | Persons not obliged to disclose a secret process of manufacture |
| 7 | Commission to cease to exist when so notified |
| 8 | Procedure to be followed by the Commission |
| 8A | Inquiry not to be interrupted by reason of a vacancy or change in membership |
| 8B | Persons likely to be prejudicially affected to be heard |
| 8C | Right of cross-examination and representation by a legal practitioner |
| 9 | Protection of action taken in good faith |
| 10 | Members and staff to be public servants |
| 10A | Penalty for acts calculated to bring the Commission or a member into disrepute |
| 11 | Act to apply to other inquiring authorities in certain cases |
| 12 | Power to make rules |
Appointment: section 3
The appropriate Government may, if it is of opinion that it is necessary so to do, and shall, if a resolution in that behalf is passed by the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the State, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint a Commission of Inquiry for the purpose of making an inquiry into any definite matter of public importance, and performing such functions and within such time as may be specified in the notification.
Three points, and all are examinable.
The rest of this chapter
Module one is free. The rest of LL.B. 3 Years Semester 3 is part of the bundle.
You are reading a chapter from a later module. Everything in module one of every subject stays free, and so does every question paper and the syllabus.
See the semester for ₹798 Already bought it? Sign in
Free either way: question papers, the syllabus, and module one of every subject.
The rest of this subject
These notes are cut from the University's printed syllabus. Open the syllabus itself, or the past papers, for the same subject.