ANDHRA PRADESH REVENUE SUMMONSES ACT, 1869

3 of 1869

23rd April, 1869

An Act to empower Revenue Officers, to summon persons to attend at their Kachahris for the settlement of matters connected with Revenue administration. Whereas it is found that the revenue administration of the country is retarded, because Revenue Officer, namely, Collectors, Sub Collectors, Assistant Collectors, Deputy Collectors, Tahsildars, are not made competent, by express provision of law, to issue summonses for the attendance of persons, or the production of documents, in certain cases in which it is their duty to hold investigations; It is hereby enacted as follows

Section 1 Revenue officers empowered to summon persons to appear or to produce documents

Collectors, Sub Collectors, Assistant Collectors, Deputy Collectors, Tahsildars and Deputy Tahsildars shall have power to summon any person whose evidence may appear to them to be necessary for the investigation of any matter in which they are authorized to hold an inquiry, and also to require the production of any document or other article relevant to the matter under inquiry, which may be in the possession or under the control of such person.

Section 2 Terms of summons

Such summons shall be in writing, and authenticated by the signature and seal of the officer by whom it is issued. It shall require the person summoned to appear before the said officer at a stated time and place, and shall specify whether his attendance is required for the purpose of giving evidence or to produce a document or other article or for both purposes; and any particular document or other article the production of which is required, shall be described in the summons with convenient certainty.

Section 3 Service of summons

The summons shall be served personally on the person summoned, or if he cannot be found, it may be left for him with some adult member of his family residing with him, or by affixing it on the outer door or other conspicuous part of the premises in which he is known to have last resided or carried on business or personally worked for gain.

Section 4 Persons summoned to produce may send documents by third party

Any person may be summoned to produce a document or other article without being summoned to give evidence; and any person summoned merely to produce a document or other article shall be deemed to have complied with the summons if he causes such document or other article to be produced, instead of attending personally to produce the same.

Section 5 When personal attendance of witnesses dispensed with

When the person whose evidence may be required is unable, from sickness or infirmity, to attend before the officer issuing the summons, or is a person whom by reason of rank or sex it may not be proper to summon, the officer issuing the summons may, of his own motion or on the application of the party whose evidence is desired, dispense with the appearance of such person and order him to be examined by a subordinate deputed by such officer for the purpose.

Section 6 Officers to have powers of a Civil Court in certain matters

The officer issuing the summons or a subordinate deputed by such officer under Section 5, shall have the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act 5 of 1908), for

(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath; and

(b) requiring the production of any document or other article.

Section 7 Power to make rules

(1) The State Government may, by notification in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions, such rules may provide for

(a) the form of summons to be issued under this Act;

(b) the Scale fees to be levied for the service of processes, when summons are issued at the instance of parties in an enquiry;

(c) the scale of allowances payable to persons summoned to give evidence and their deposit by parties at whose instance the summons are issued;

(d) any other, matter incidental to, or necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

(3) All rules made under the section shall be laid on the table of the Legislative Assembly as soon as possible after they are made and shall be subject to such notifications whether by way of repeal or amendment as the Assembly may make within 14 days thereafter during the session in which they are so laid.

RULE:

ANDHRA PRADESH REVENUE SUMMONSES RULES, 1959

In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Andhra Pradesh Revenue Summonses Act 1869 (Act No.III of 1869) as amended by the Andhra Pradesh Revenue Summonses (A.P.Extension and Amendment) Act, 1958 (Act XX of 1958) the Governor of Andhra Pradesh hereby makes the following rules:

Rule 1

These Rules may be called the Andhra Pradesh Revenue Summonses Rules, 1959.

Rule 2

In these rules unless the context otherwise requires,

(a) Act means the Andhra Pradesh Revenue Summonses Act, 1869 (Madras Act III of 1869)

(b) Form means a form appended to these rules.

Rule 3

(1) Every summon issued under the Act requiring the attendance of any person for the purpose of giving evidence, or both for purposes of giving evidence and to produce any document or article, shall be in Form I.

(2) Every summon issued under the Act merely for the production of any document or article shall be in Form II.

Rule 4

(1) Where summonses are issued at the instance of any party in an enquiry, the fee leviable for the service of processes under the Act shall, subject to the provisions of sub rule (2) be Rs.1 for each person on whom the process is to be served:

Provided that where an application is made at the same time for the service of processes on more than one person residing in the same village, the fee for the service of process on every such additional person shall be 50 np.

(2) Where the service of any process is likely to involve the incurring of conveyance charges by the person serving the process, the officer issuing the summons may in addition to the fees specified in sub rule (1) levy an additional fee not exceeding the charges likely to be so incurred.

Rule 5

The process fee payable under these rules shall be paid in the form of court fee labels of the appropriate amount affixed on the application. The officer receiving the application shall punch the labels immediately on its receipt.

Rule 6

(1) Every person summoned under the Act to give evidence shall, upon attendance, be entitled to travelling and subsistence allowances as hereinafter provided.

(2) The travelling allowance payable shall be the minimum fare for the to and fro journeys by a convenient public conveyance.

(3) The subsistence allowance shall be such as may be determined by the officer issuing the summons, being not less than 75 np. and not greater than Rs.2 for every day, on which the attendance of the person is required.

(4) No travelling allowance or subsistence allowance shall be payable where the distance travelled by the person does not exceed 5 miles and the period during which he is required to be in attendance does not exceed six hours.

Rule 7

Where the summons is proposed to be issued at the instance of any party in any enquiry, the party at whose instance the summons is to be issued shall be required to deposit in advance to the Officer issuing the summons an amount equal to the travelling and subsistence allowances payable under Rule 6, and no summons shall be issued until the amount has been so deposited.

APPENDIX 1 Summonses to appear in person (and also to produce documents or articles)

FORM

FORM 1

Summonses to appear in person (and also to produce documents or articles)

To

A.B. of

Whereas yours attendence is necessary to give evidence and to produce the following documents or article .with reference to a Revenue inquiry .now pending before me, you are hereby summoned to appear in person before me on the.day of.at O'clock and not to depart thence until permitted by me.

Given under my hand and seal this.day of.19

(official designation)

APPENDIX 2 Summons to Produce documents or articles

FORM

FORM 2

Summons to Produce documents or articles

To

A.B. of .

Whereas the following documents or articles .are required with reference to Revenue Enquiry .now pending before me, you are hereby summoned to produce or cause to be produced the said document or article before me on the. day of .Oclock

Given under my hand and seal this .day of .

(official designation)

Here describe the document or article with convenient certainty

Here enter briefly the subject of the enquiry.