Power to declare certain publications forfeited and to issue search warrants for the same

¹²⁷[ ¹²⁸[99A.(1) Where any newspaper, or book or any document wherever printed, appears to the Government to contain-

(a) any matter the publication of which is punishable under section 123A or section 124A or section 153A or section 292 or section 295A or section 505 or section 505A of the Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860), or

(b) any matter which is defamatory of the President of Bangladesh, ¹²⁹[∗∗∗], the Prime Minister of the Government, the Speaker of Parliament or the Chief Justice of Bangladesh, or

(c) any matter which is grossly in-docent or is scurrilous or obscene, or

(d) any words or visible representations which incite, or which are likely to incite, any person or class of persons to commit any cognizable offence,

the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, stating the grounds of its opinion, declare every copy of the issue of the newspaper containing such matter, words or visible representations, and every copy of such book or other document to be forfeited to Government, and thereupon any police-officer may seize the same wherever found in Bangladesh and any Magistrate may by warrant authorise any police-officer not below the rank of sub-inspector to enter upon and search for the same in any premises where any copy of such issue or any such book or other document may be or may be reasonably suspected to be.

(2) In sub-section (1), "newspaper", "book" and "document" have the same meaning as in the Printing Presses and Publications (Declaration and Registration) Act, 1973 (XXIII of 1973).]

¹²⁷ Sections 99A to 99G were inserted by Schedule III of the Press Law Repeal and Amending Act, 1922 (Act No. XIV of 1922)

¹²⁸ Section 99A was substituted, for the former section 99A by section 3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 1991 (Act No. XVI of 1991)

¹²⁹ The words “the Vice President of Bangladesh” were omitted by section 34 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2009 (Act No. XXXII of 2009) (with effect from 1st November, 2007).