Section 45 in The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1989 (1933 A. D.)
45. Village, headmen, accountants, landholders and other bound to report certain matters.
(1)Every village headman, village accountant, village watchman, village police-officer, owner or occupier in charge of land and the agent of any such owner or occupier in charge of the management of that land [and every member of a village panchayat, other than a Judicial panchayat (where such panchayat, by whatever name is called, is constituted under any law for the time being in force)] [Inserted by Act XLII of 1960.] and every officer employed in the collection of revenue, of rent of land on the part of Government or the Court of Wards 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, on the passage through, such village of any person whom he knows, or reasonably suspects, to be 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 punishment under section 143, 144, 145, 147 or 148 of the Ranbir Penal Code ;(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 the Jammu and Kashmir State near such village any act which, if committed in the Jammu and Kashmir State, would be an offence punishable under any of the following sections of the Ranbir Penal Code, namely, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 302, 382, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 402, 435, 436, 449, 450, 457, 458, 459, 460, 489-A, 489-B, 489-C, 489-D ;(f)any matter likely to affect the maintenance of order or the prevention of crime or the safety of person of the property respecting which the District Magistrate, by general or special order made with, the previous sanctioned [the Government] [Substituted by Act VII of 2001 for 'His Highness'.] 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 establishment or continued by [the Government] [Substituted by Act VII of 2001 for 'His Highness'.] in any part of Jammu and Kashmir State in respect of any act which, if committed in Jammu and Kashmir State, would be punishable under any of the following section of the Ranbir Penal Code, namely, 302, 304, 382, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 402, 435, 436, 449, 457, 450, 457, 458, 459 and 460.(3)Appointment of village-headman 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 Government] [In section 4(1)(a), (1) and (p). 7(2), 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 415(3), 108, 132, 157, 158, 161, 173, 178, 188, 193(2), 196, 196-A, 197, 218, 261, 263, 265, 319, 320(1), 321, 335, 357, 358, 382, 386, 392, 399, 422, 464, 466, 471, 474, 483, 492, 495, 528, 541 and 554 the words 'The Government' substituted for the words 'His Highness' by Act X of 1996.], the District Magistrate or Sub-Divisional Magistrate may from time to time appoint one or more persons with his or their consent to perform the duties of a village-headman under this section whether a village-headman has or has not been appointed for that village under any other law.
