Section Text
1) Every village-headman, village accountant, village-watchman, village-police-officer, owner or occupier of land, and the agent of any such owner or occupier ^ [incharge of the management of that land] [and every member of a village panchayat, other than a judicial panchayat (where such panchayat, by whatever name called, is constituted under any law for the time being in force)], and every officer employed in the collection of revenue or rent of land on the part of the Government or the Court of Wards, shall forthwith communicate to the nearest Magistrate or to the officer in charge of the nearest police station whichever is the nearer, any, information which he may [possess] respecting-
(a) the permanent or temporary residence of any notorious receiver or vendor of stolen property in any village of which he is headman, accountant, watchman or police-officer, or in which he owns or occupies land, or is agent) or collects revenue or rent;
(b) the resort to any place within, or the passage through, such village of any person whom he knows, or reasonably suspects to be a thug, robber, escaped convict or proclaimed offender;
(c) the commission of, or intention to commit, in or near such village any non-bailable offence or any offence punishable under (Sections 143), (S.144 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.145 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.147 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) or (S.148 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) ;
(d) the occurrence in or near such village of any sudden or unnatural death or of any death under suspicious circumstances [or the discovery in or near such village of any corpse or part of a corpse, in circumstances which lead to a reasonable suspicion that such a death has occurred or the disappearance from such village of any person in circumstances which lead to a reasonable suspicion that a non-bailable offence has been committed in respect of such person];
(e) the commission of) or intention to commit, at any place out of [India] near such village any act which, if committed in [India], would be an offence punishable under any of the following sections of the (Indian Penal Code, 1860) , namely, [(S.231 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.232 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.233 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.234 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.235 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.236 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.237 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.238 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860),(S.304 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860),(S.382 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860),(S.932 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.393 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860),(S.394 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860),(S.395 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.396 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.397 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.398 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.399 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.402 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.435 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.436 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.449 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.450 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.457 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.458 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.459 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.460 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.489A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.489B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), (S.89G of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) and (S.489D of the Indian Penal Code, 1860)] ;(f) any matter likely to affect the maintenance of order or the prevention of crime or the safety of person or property respecting which the District Magistrate) by general or special order made with the previous sanction of the State Government, has directed him to communicate information.
(2) In this section-
(i) "village" includes village lands; and (ii) the expression "proclaimed offender" includes any person proclaimed as an offender by any Court or authority established or continued [by the Central Government outside India], in respect of any act which, if committed in [India] would be punishable under any of the following sections of the (Indian Penal Code, 1860), namely, (S. 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860)(S. 304 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) (S. 382 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860)(S. 932 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) (S. 393 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) (S. 394 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) (S. 395 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) (S. 396 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) (S. 397 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) (S. 398 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) (S. 399 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) (S. 402 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) (S. 435 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) (S. 536 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) (S. 449 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) (S. 450 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) (S. 457 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) (S. 458 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) (S. 459 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) and (S. 460 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860) (3) Appointment of village-headmen by District Magistrate or sub-divisional Magistrate in certain cases for purposes of this section.-Subject to rules in this behalf to be made by the State Government, the District Magistrate [or Sub-divisional Magistrate may from time to time appoint one or more persons [with his or their consent] perform the duties of a village-headman under this section whether a villageheadman has or has not been appointed for that village under any other law]