The Touts Act, 1879

An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to Legal Practitioners.

Section 1. Short title

This Act may be called the ¹Touts Act, 1879: and shall come into force on the first day of January, 1880.

Commencement Local extent

It extends to the whole of ²Bangladesh.

Section 2. [Repealed]

[Repealed by the Repealing Act, 1938 (Act I of 1938), section 2 and Schedule.]

Section 3. Interpretation-clause

In this Act, unless there be something repugnant in the subject or context,-

"Judge" means the presiding judicial officer in every Civil and Criminal Court, by whatever title he is designated:

"Subordinate Court" means all Courts subordinate to the ³High Court Division, including Courts of Small Causes established under Act No. XI of 1865.

"revenue-officer" includes all Courts (other than Civil Courts) trying suits under any Act for the time being in force relating to land-holders and their tenants or agents:

"legal practitioner" means an advocate, ⁴* * * muktar or revenue agent:

"tout" means a person –

(Containing sections 4-35) [Repealed]

Sections 4-35. [Repealed by section 51 of the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act, 1965 (Act No. III of 1965).]

Section 36. Power to frame and publish list of touts

(1) ⁷The Supreme Court, District Judge, Sessions Judge, District Magistrate and, every Revenue-officer, not being below the rank of a Collector of a district (each as regards their or his own Court and the Courts, if any, subordinate thereto), may frame and publish lists of persons proved to their or his satisfaction, or to the satisfaction of any subordinate Court as provided in sub-section (2A) by evidence of general repute or, otherwise, habitually to act as touts, and may, from time to time, alter and amend such lists.

Explanation – The passing of a resolution, declaring any person to be or not to be a tout, by a majority of the members present at a meeting, specially convened for the purpose, of an association of persons entitled to practise as legal practitioners in any Court or revenue –office, shall be evidence of the general repute of such person for the purposes of this sub-section.

(2) No person's name shall be included in any such list until he shall have had an opportunity of showing cause against such inclusion.

(2A) Any authority empowered under sub-section (1) to frame and publish a list of touts may send to any Court subordinate to such authority the names of any persons alleged or suspected to be touts, and order that Court to hold an inquiry in regard to such persons; and the subordinate Court shall thereupon hold an inquiry into the conduct of such persons and, after giving each such person an opportunity of showing cause as provided in sub-section (2), shall report to the authority which has ordered the inquiry the name of each such person who has been proved to the satisfaction of the subordinate Court to be a tout; and that authority may include the name of any such person in the list of touts framed and published by that authority:

Provided that such authority shall hear any such person who, before his name has been so included, appears before it and desires to be heard.

(3) A copy of every such list shall be kept hung up in every Court to which the same relates.

(4) The Court or Judge may, by general or special order, exclude from the precincts of the Court any person whose name is included in any such list.

(5) Every person whose name is included in any such list shall be deemed to be proclaimed as a tout within the meaning of section 13, clause (e), and section 22, clause (d).

(6) Any person who acts as a tout whilst his name is included in any such list shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred taka, or with both.

(7) Every person who having been excluded from the precincts of a Court under sub-section (4) enters or is found within the precincts of any Court without a written permission from the Presiding Officer of the Court shall be deemed to be acting as a tout within the meaning of sub-section (6):

Provided that this sub-section shall not apply where such person is a party to any case in the Court or has been directed to appear by any process of the Court.

(8) Any presiding officer of a Court may, by an order in writing, direct any person named in order to arrest any such tout found within the precincts of the Court. Such tout may be arrested accordingly and shall be forthwith produced before the officer.

If the tout admits his offence the provisions of sections 480 and 481 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, shall be applicable, so far as may be, to his detention, trial and punishment.

If the tout does not admit his offence the provisions of section 482 of the said Code shall be similarly applicable to his detention, trial and punishment.

Power to make rules

⁸36A. (1) The Supreme Court may, from time to time, make rules consistent with this Act as to the following matters, namely:-

(2) The Chief Controlling Revenue Authority may, from time to time, make rules consistent with this Act relating to the matters specified in sub-section (1) in regard to clerks of Revenue agents.

(3) All rules made under this section shall be submitted to the Government for approval, and, after they have been approved, they shall be published in the official Gazette and on this publication they shall have effect as if enacted in this Act.

(Containing sections 37- 42) [Repealed]

Sections 37-41. [Repealed by section 51 of the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act, 1965 (Act No. III of 1965).]

Section 42. [Repealed by section 2 and Schedule of the Repealing Act, 1938 (Act No. I of 1938).]