3. Punishment for terrorist acts. – (1) Whoever with intent to overawe the Government as by
law established or to strike terror in the people or any section of the people or to alienate any
section of the people or to adversely affect the harmony amongst different sections of the people
does any act or thing by using bombs, dynamite or other explosive substances or inflammable
substances or lethal weapons or poisons or noxious gases or other chemicals or by any other
substances (whether biological or otherwise) of a hazardous nature in such a manner as to cause,
or as is likely to cause, death of, or injuries to, any person or persons or loss of, or damage to, or
destruction of, property or disruption of any supplies or services essential to the life of the
community, or detains any person and threatens to kill or injure such person in order to compel
the Government or any other person to do or abstain from doing any act, commits a terrorist act.
(2) Whoever commits a terrorist act, shall, -
(i) if such act has resulted in the death of any person, be punishable with death or imprisonment
for life and shall also be liable to fine;
(ii) in any other case, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than
five years but which may extend to imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.
(3) Whoever conspires or attempts to commit, or advocates, abets, advises or incites or
knowingly facilitates the commission of, a terrorist act or any act preparatory to a terrorist act,
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years but
which may extend to imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.
(4) Whoever harbours or conceals, or attempts to harbour or conceal, any terrorist shall be
punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years but which may
extend to imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.
(5) Any person who is a member of a terrorists gang or a terrorist organisation, which is involved
in terrorist acts, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than
five years but which may extend to imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.
(6) Whoever holds any property derived or obtained from commission of any terrorist act or has
been acquired through the terrorist funds shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which
shall not be less than five years but which may extend to imprisonment for life and shall also be
liable to fine.]
4.Punishment for disruptive activities. - (1) Whoever commits or conspires or attempts to
commit or abets, advocates, advises, or knowingly facilitates the commission of, any disruptive
activity or any act preparatory to a disruptive activity shall be punishable with imprisonment for
a term which shall not be less than five years but which may extend to imprisonment for life and
shall also be liable to fine.
(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), "disruptive activity" means any action taken, whether by
act or by speech or through any other media or in any other manner whatsoever, -
(i) which questions, disrupts or is intended to disrupt, whether directly or indirectly, the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of India; or
(ii) which is intended to bring about or supports any claim, whether directly or indirectly, for the
cession of any part of India or the secession of any part of India from the Union.
Explanation – For the purposes of this sub-section, -
(a) "cession" includes the admission of any claim of any foreign country to any part of India, and
(b) "secession" includes the assertion of any claim to determine whether a part of India will
remain within the Union.
(3) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-section(2), it is hereby declared
that any action taken, whether by act or by speech or through any other media or in any other
manner whatsoever, which -
1. advocates, advises, suggests or incites; or
2. predicts, prophesies or pronounces or otherwise expresses, in such manner as to incite, advice,
suggest or prompt,
the killing or the destruction of any person bound by oath under the constitution to uphold the
sovereignty and integrity of India or any public servant shall be deemed to be a disruptive
activity within the meaning of this section.
(4) Whoever harbours or conceals, or attempts to harbour or conceal, any disruptiionist shall be
punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years but which may
be extend to imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.
2.Habeas Corpus – In habeas corpus proceedings if the detention is legal at the time of the
disposal of the petition the Court cannot order release of the person detained by issuing a writ of
habeas corpus. Therefore, the legality or otherwise of the detention shall also be considered on
the date of final disposal of the petition. Bacha Bora v. State of Assam, 1991 Cr LJ 2782 (Gau).
5.Possession of certain unauthorised arms, etc. in specified areas – Where any person is in
possession of any arms and ammunition specified in Columns 2 and 3 of Category I or Category
III (a) of Schedule I to the Arms Rules, 1962, or bombs, dynamite or other explosive substances
unauthorisedly in a notified area, he shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law
for the time being in force, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less
than five years but which may extend to imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.
6.Enhanced penalties – (1) If any person with intend to aid any terrorist or disruptionist,
contravenes any provision of, or any rule made under the Arms Act, 1959, the Explosives Act,
1884, the Explosives Substances Act, 1908 or the Inflammable Substances Act, 1952, he shall,
notwithstanding anything contained in any of the aforesaid Acts or the rules made thereunder, be
punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years but which may
extend to imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.
(2) For the purposes of this section, any person who attempts to contravene or abets, or attempts
to abet, or does any act preparatory to the contravention of any provision of any law, rule or
order, shall be deemed to have contravened that provision, and the provision of sub-section (1)
shall, in relation to such person, have effect subject to the modification that the reference to
"imprisonment for life" shall be construed as a reference to "imprisonment for ten years".
7.Conferment of powers – (1) Notwithstanding anything contained the Code or in any other
provision of this Act, the Central Government may, if it considers it necessary or expedient so to
do, –
a. for the prevention of, and for coping with, any offence under Section 3 or Seciton 4; or
b. for any case or class or group of cases under Section 3 or Section 4;
in any State or part thereof, confer, by notification in the official Gazette, on any officer of the
Central Government, powers exercisable by a police officer under the Code in such State or part
thereof or, as the case may be, for such case or class or group of cases and in particular, the
powers of arrest, investigation and prosecution of persons before any Court.
(2) All officers of police and all officers of Government are hereby required and empowered to
assist the officer of the Central Government referred to in sub-section (1), in the execution of the
provisions of this Act or any rule or order made thereunder.
(3) The provisions of the Code shall, so far as may be and subject to such modifications made in
this Act, apply to the exercise of the powers by an officer under sub-section (1).
[7-A. Powers of investigating officers – If an officer investigating an offence committed under
this Act has reason to believe that any property in relation to which an investigation is being
conducted is a property derived or obtained from the commission of any terrorist act and
includes proceeds of terrorism he shall, with the approval of the Superintendent of Police, make
an order seizing such property and where it is not practicable to seize such property, he may
make an order of attachment directing that such property shall not be transferred or otherwise
dealt with except with the prior permission of the officer making such order, or of the Designated
Court and a copy of such order shall be served on the persons concerned :
Provided that the investigating officer shall duly inform the Designated Court within forty-eight
hours of the attachment of such property and the said Court shall either confirm or revoke the
order of attachment so issued.]
8.Forfeiture of property of certain persons – (1) Where a person has been convicted to any
offence punishable under this Act or any rule made thereunder, the Designated Court may, in
addition to awarding any punishment, by order in writing, declare that any property, movable or
immovable or both, belonging to the accused and specified in the order, shall stand forfeited to
the Government free from all encumbrances.
(2) Where any person is accused of any offence under this Act or any rule made thereunder, it
shall be open to the Designated Court trying him to pass an order that all or any properties,
movable or immovable or both belonging to him, shall, during the period of such trial, be
attached, and where such trial ends in conviction, the properties so attached shall stand forfeited
to Government free from all encumbrances.
(3) (a) If upon a report in writing made by a police officer or an officer referred to in sub-section
(1) of Section 7, any Designated Court has reason to believe that any person, who has committed
an offence punishable under this Act or any rule made thereunder, has absconded or is
concealing himself so that he may not be apprehended, such court may, notwithstanding
anything contained in Section 82 of the Code, publish a written proclamation requiring him to
appear at a specified place and at a specified time not less than fifteen days but not more than
thirty days from the date of publication of such proclamation.
(b) The Designated Court issuing a proclamation under Clause (a) may, at any time, order the
attachment of any property, movable or immovable or both, belonging to the proclaimed person,
and thereupon the provisions of Sections 83 to 85 of the Code shall apply to such attachment as
if such attachment were made under that Code.
(c) If, within six months from the date of the attachment, any person, whose property is, or has
been, at the disposal of the Government under sub-section(2) of Section 85 of the code, appears
voluntarily or is apprehended and brought before the Designated Court by whose order the
property was attached, or the Court to which such Court is subordinate, and proves to the
satisfaction of such Court that he did not abscond or conceal himself for the purpose of avoiding
apprehension and that he had not received such notice of the proclamation as to enable him to
attend within the time specified therein, such property or, if the same has been sold, the net
proceeds of the sale and the residue of the property, shall, after satisfying therefrom all costs
incurred in consequence of the attachment, be delivered to him.
(4) Where any shares in a company stand forfeited to the Government under this sub-section,
then, the company shall, notwithstanding anything contained in the Companies Act, 1956, or the
articles of association the company, forthwith register the Government as the transferee of such
shares.