Section 3 — Power to make orders detaining certain persons.

3. Power to make orders detaining certain persons.—(1) The Central Government or a State 

Government or any officer of the Central Government, not below the rank of a Joint Secretary to that 

Government specially empowered for the purposes of this section by that Government, or any officer of a 

State Government, not below the rank of a Secretary to that Government specially empowered for the 

purposes of this section by that Government, may, if satisfied, with respect to any person that with a view 

to preventing him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of supplies of commodities 

essential to the community it is necessary so to do, make an order directing that such person be detained. 

Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section, the expression “acting in any manner prejudicial 

to the maintenance of supplies of commodities essential to the community” means— 

(a) committing or instigating any person to commit any offence punishable under the Essential 

Commodities Act, 1955 (10 of 1955), or under any other law for the time being in force relating to 

the control of the production, supply or distribution of, or trade and commerce in, any commodity 

essential to the community; or 

(b) dealing in any commodity— 

(i) which is an essential commodity as defined in the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (10 of 

1955), or 

(ii) with respect to which provisions have been made in any such other law as is referred to in 

clause (a), 

with a view to making gain in any manner which may directly or indirectly defeat or tend to defeat 

the provisions of that Act or other law aforesaid. 

(2) Any of the following officers, namely:— 

(a) district magistrates; 

(b) Commissioners of Police, wherever they have been appointed, 

may also, if satisfied as provided in sub-section (1), exercise the powers conferred by the said sub-section. 



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(3) When any order is made under this section by an officer mentioned in sub-section (2), he shall 

forthwith report the fact to the State Government to which he is subordinate together with the grounds on 

which the order has been made and such other particulars as in his opinion have a bearing on the matter, 

and no such order shall remain in force for more than twelve days after the making thereof unless in the 

meantime it has been approved by the State Government: 

Provided that where under section 8 the grounds of detention are communicated by the authority 

making the order after five days but not later than ten days from the date of detention, this sub-section 

shall apply subject to the modification that for the words “twelve days”, the words “fifteen days” shall be 

substituted. 

(4) When any order is made or approved by the State Government under this section or when any 

order is made under this section by an officer of the State Government not below the rank of Secretary to 

that Government specially empowered under sub-section (1), the State Government shall, within seven 

days, report the fact to the Central Government together with the grounds on which the order has been 

made and such other particulars as, in the opinion of the State Government, have a bearing on the 

necessity for the order.