Act XII of 1963 · 4 pages
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THE INDECENT ADVERTISEMENTS PROHIBITION ACT, 1963
CONTENTS
1. Short title, extent and commencement
2. Definitions
3. Prohibition against persons advertising, displaying, etc., indecent advertisements
4. Penalty
5. Confiscation of documents, etc., containing indecent advertisements
6. Offences by companies
7. Complaint by a police officer
8. Jurisdiction to try offences
9. Officers to be deemed to be public servants
10. Indemnity
11. Other laws not affected
12. Power to exempt from application of Act
13. Power to make rules
*14.
*Omitted
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THE INDECENT ADVERTISEMENTS PROHIBITION ACT, 1963
Act No. XII OF 1963
[18th June, 1963]
An Act to prohibit indecent Advertisements
WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the prohibition of indecent advertisements;
AND WHEREAS the national interest of Pakistan in relation to the achievement of
uniformity within the meaning of clause (2) of Article 131 of the Constitution requires Central
legislation in the matter;
It is hereby enacted as follows:—
1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Indecent
Advertisements Prohibition Act, 1963.
(1) It extends to the whole of Pakistan.
(2) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,__
(a) “advertisement” includes any notice, circular or other document, displayed on
any house, building or wall, or published in any newspaper or periodical, and
any announcement made orally or by any means of producing or transmitting
light or sound, but does not include trade circulars issued by manufacturers of
drugs to medical practitioners;
(b) “indecent” includes whatsoever may amount to any incentive to sensuality and
excitement of impure thoughts in the mind of an ordinary man of normal
temperament, and has the tendency to deprave and corrupt those whose minds
are open to such immoral influence, and which is deemed to be detrimental to
public morals and calculated to produce pernicious effect, in depraving and
debauching the minds of persons;
(c) “taking any part in the publication of any advertisement” includes—
(i) the writing, typing, stamping, drawing, announcing, printing or
transmitting of the advertisement ;
(ii) the publication of any advertisement outside Pakistan by or at the
instance of a person residing in Pakistan ;
(d) “public place” means any place where an advertisement can be seen or heard
by members of the public.
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3. Prohibition against person advertising, displaying, etc., indecent advertisements.—
Subject to the provisions of this Act—
(i) no person shall take any part in the publication of any advertisement which is
indecent ; and
(ii) no person having the ownership, possession or control of any property or
public place shall knowingly allow any advertisement which is indecent to be
displayed on such property or place, or to be announced therefrom.
4. Penalty.—Whoever cotrnavenes any of the provisions of this Act shall, on conviction, be
punishable—
(a) in the case of a first conviction, with imprisonment which may extend to six
months, or with fine, or with both; and
(b) in the case of any subsequent conviction, with imprisonment which may
extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.
5. Confiscation of documents, etc., containing indecent advertisements.—Any person
authorised by the 1[Provincial Government] in this behalf may, at any time, seize and detain any
document, article or thing which such person has reason to believe contains any advertisement which
contravenes any of the provisions of this Act and the court trying such contravention may direct that
such document (including all copies thereof), article or thing shall be forfeited to the Government.
6. Offences by companies.—(1) If the person contravening any of the provisions of this Act
is a company, every person who at the time the offence was committed, was in charge of, and was
responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the company as well as the company
shall be deemed to be guilty of the contravention and shall be liable to be proceeded against and
punished accordingly:
Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to any
punishment provided in this Act if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge
or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission on such offence.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where any offence under this Act
has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence was committed with the consent
or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or
other officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall also be deemed
to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Explanation.—For the purpose of this section—
(a) ‘company’ means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association
of individuals, and
(b) ‘director’ in relation to a firm means a partner in the firm.
7. Complaint by a police officer.—Without prejudice to the right of any other person to
make a complaint of an offence under this Act, a police officer not below the rank of sub-inspector
who receives information that such an offence has been committed, shall, if he is satisfied as to the
truth of the information, make a complaint of the offence in writing to the nearest 2[Judicial
Magistrate] having jurisdiction.
1
Subs. by F.A.O., 1975(P.O. NO. 4 of 1975), Art. 2 and Sch., for “Central Government”.
2
Subs. by the Federal Laws (Revision and Declaration) Ordinance, 1981 (XXVII of 1981), s. 3 and Sch. II.
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8. Jurisdiction to try offences.—No Court inferior to that of a Magistrate of the first class
shall try any offence punishable under this Act.
9. Officers to be deemed to be public servants.—Every person authorised under section 5
shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Pakistan Penal Code
(Act XLV of 1860).
10. Indemnity.—No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person
for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.
11. Other laws not affected.—The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and not in
derogation of, the provisions of any other law for the time being in force.
12. Power to exempt from application of Act.—lf, in the opinion of the 1[Provincial
Government], public interest so requires, it may, by notification in the official Gazette, direct that the
provisions of section 3 shall not apply, or shall apply subject to such conditions as may be specified
in the notification, to, or in relation to, the advertisement of any specified drug or class of drugs.
13. Power to make rules.—The 1[Provincial Government] may, by notification in the
official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
14. 2[Omitted]
_________
Date: - 18.04.2024
1
Subs. by F.A.O., 1975 (P.O. No. 4 of 1975), Art. 2 and Sch., for “Central Government”.
2
Omitted by the Federal Laws (Revision and Declaration) Ordinance, 1981 (XXVII of 1981), s. 3 and Sch. II.
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Source: Pakistan Code, Ministry of Law and Justice (pakistancode.gov.pk). Text on this page is reproduced verbatim from the official PDF and is provided for reference only. For the authoritative version, always consult the source document or a current reported edition.
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