(1)If as respects any place or class of places the State Government considers it necessary or expedient in the public interest or in the interest of the safety and security of such place or class of places that special precautions should be taken to prevent the entry of unauthorised persons, the State Government may by order declare that place, or, as the case may be, every place of that class to be a protected place; and thereupon, for so long as the order is in force, such place or every place of such class, as the case may be, shall be a protected place for the purposes of this Act .(2)No person shall, without the permission of the State Government or of any person in authority connected with the protected place duly authorized by the State Government in this behalf or of the District Magistrate or of the Sub-divisional Magistrate having jurisdiction, enter, or be on or in or pass over, any protected place and no person shall loiter in the vicinity of any such place.(3)Where in pursuance of sub-section (2) any person is granted permission to enter, or to be on or in, or to pass over, a protected place, that person shall, while acting under such permission, comply with such orders for regulating his conduct as may be given by the authority which granted the permission.(4)Any police officer, or any other person authorised in this behalf by the State Government, may search any person entering, or seeking to enter, or being on or in, or leaving, a protected place and any vehicle, vessel, animal or article brought in by such person, and may, for the purpose of the search, detain such person, vehicle, vessel, animal or article:Provided that no woman shall be searched in pursuance of this sub-section except by a woman.(5)If any person contravenes any provision of this section, then, without prejudice to any other proceedings which may be taken against him, he may be removed therefrom by any police officer or by any other person authorised in this behalf by the State Government.(6)If any person contravenes any of the provisions of this section, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine or with both.
