1. Short title, extent and commencement.―(1)This Act may be called the Young Persons (Harmful
Publications) Act, 1956.
(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
(3) It shall come into force on such date1
as the Central Government may, by notification in the
Official Gazette, appoint.
2. Definitions.―In this Act,―
(a) “harmful publication” means any book, magazine, Pamphlet, leaflet, newspaper or other like
publication which consists of stories told with the aid of pictures or without the aid of pictures or
wholly in pictures, being stories portraying wholly or mainly―
(i)the commission of offences; or
(ii) acts of violence or cruelty; or
(iii) incidents of a repulsive or horrible nature;
in such a way that the publication as a whole would tend to corrupt a young person into whose hands it
might fall, whether by inciting or encouraging him to commit offences or acts of violence or cruelty or in
any other manner whatsoever;
(b) “State Government” in relation to a Union territory, means the administrator thereof;
(c) “young person” means a person under the age of twenty years.
3. Penalty for sale, etc., of harmful publications.―(1) If a person―
(a) sells, lets to hire, distributes, publicly exhibits or in any manner puts into circulation, any
harmful publication, or
(b) for purposes of sale, hire, distribution, public exhibition or circulation, prints, makes or
produces or has in his possession any harmful publication, or
(c) advertises or makes known by any means whatsoever that any harmful publication can be
procured from or through any person,
he shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both.
(2) On a conviction under this section, the court may order the destruction of all the copies of the
harmful publication in respect of which the conviction was had and which are in the custody of the court
or remain in the possession or power of the person convicted.
4. Power of Government to declare harmful publications forfeited.―(1) The State Government
may, if it is of opinion after consultation with the principal law officer of the State, whether called the
Advocate-General or by any other name, that any publication is a harmful publication, declare, by order
notified in the Official Gazette, that every copy of such publication shall be forfeited to the Government
and every such notification shall state the ground for the order.
1. Ist February, 1957, see Gazette of India, 1957, Extraordinary, Part. II, sec. 3.
1
st July, 1965, extended to and brought into force in respect of Dadra and Nagar Haveli vide Reg. 6 of 1963, s. 2 and Sch. I.
Extended to the Union territory of Pondicherry by Act 26 of 1968, s. 3 and Sch.
3
(2) Without prejudice to the provisions contained in sub-section (1) of section 6, where there is an
order of forfeiture under sub-section (1) in respect of any publication it shall be lawful for any police
officer to seize the same wherever found in the territories to which this Act extends.
5. Appeal to High Court against order of forfeiture.―Any person aggrieved by an order of
forfeiture passed by the State Government under section 4 may, within sixty days of the date of such
order, apply to the High Court to set aside such order, and upon such application the High Court may pass
such order as it deems fit.
6. Power to seize and destroy harmful publications.―(1) Any police officer or any other officer
empowered in this behalf by the State Government may seize any harmful publication.
(2) Any Magistrate of the first class may, by warrant, authorise any police officer not below the rank
of sub-inspector to enter and search any place where any stock of harmful publications may be or may be
reasonably suspected to be, and such police officer may seize any publication found in such place if in his
opinion it is a harmful publication.
(3) Any publication seized under sub-section (1) shall be produced, as soon as may be, before a
magistrate of the first class, and any publication seized under sub-section (2) shall be produced, as soon as
may be, before the court which issued the warrant.
(4) If in the opinion of the magistrate or court such publication is a harmful publication, the
Magistrate or court may cause it to be destroyed, but if in the opinion of the magistrate or court, such
publication is not a harmful publication, the magistrate or court shall dispose of it in the manner provided
in sections 523, 524 and 525 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898).
7. Offences under this Act to be cognizable.―Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898) any offence punishable under this Act shall be cognizable.