Panchayat:Repo18/vol2-page0238

 238    THE KERALA CATTLE TRESPASS ACT, 1961 Sec. 25

keeper or who, through neglect or otherwise,damages or causes or permits to be damaged any land, or any crop or produce of land or any public road, by allowing such cattle to trespass thereon, shall, on conviction before a Magistrate, be liable to a fine not less than twenty-five rupees, but not exceeding two hundred and fifty rupees or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both. 25. Recovery of penalty for mischief committed by causing cattle to trespass.- Any fine imposed under Section 24 or for the offence of mischief by causing cattle to trespass on any land may be recovered by sale or all or any of the cattle by which the trespass was Committed, whether they were seized in the act of trespassing or not, and Whether they are the property of the person Convicted of the offence, or were only in his charge when the trespass was Committed. 26. Powers of Police to investigate offences under Section 24.- Notwithstanding the provisions contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, any Police Officer may investigate without the order of a Magistrate into an offence under Section 24 as if it Were a Cognizable case, but he shall not arrest without warrant from a Magistrate any person accused of an offence under Section 24. 27. Penalty on pound-keeper failing to perform duties.- Any pound-keeper releasing or purchasing or delivering cattle contrary to the provisions of Section 18, or omitting to provide any impounded cattle with sufficient food and water, or failing to perform any of the other duties imposed upon him by this Act, shall, over and above any other penalty to which he may be liable, be punished, on conviction before a Magistrate, with fine not exceeding fifty rupees. Such fines may be recovered by deductions from the pound-keepers' salary. 28. Application of fines recovered under Sections 24, 25 and 27.- All fines recovered under Sections 24, 25 and 27 may be appropriated, in whole or in part, as Compensation for loss or damage proved to the satisfaction of the convicting Magistrate. CHAPTER VII Suits for Compensation 29. Saving of right to sue for compensation.-Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prohibit any person whose crops or other produce of land have been damaged by trespass of cattle from suing for compensation in any competent civil Court. 30. Set-off.- Any compensation paid under this Act, by order of a Convicting Magistrate, to a person whose crops or other produce of land have been damaged by trespass by Cattle, shall be set-off and deducted from any sum due to that person as compensation in any civil Suit referred to in Section 29. CHAPTER VIII Miscellaneous 1931. XXXX) 32. Power to make rules.- (1) The Government may make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act. (2) All rules made under this section shall be laid before the Legislative Assembly for a period of not less than fourteen days as soon as possible after they are made and shall be Subject to such modifications as the Legislative Assembly may make during the session in which they are so laid or the session immediately following. 33. Repeal and savings.- The Travancore-Cochin Cattle Trespass Act, 1125 (Act XII of 1125) and the Cattle Trespass Act, 1871 (Central Act 1 of 1871) in its application to the Malabar district referred to in sub-section (2) of Section 5 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, are hereby repealed; but notwithstanding such repeal all pounds established under the aforesaid ACls shall be deemed to be pounds established under this Act. . 19. Section 31 omitted by Kerala Decentralisation of Powers Act, 2000 (16 of 2000), Published in Kerala Gazette Extra No.869dt. 12-5-2000.