Section 12 in The Maharashtra Prevention Of Gambling Act
12. Power to arrest without warrant for gaming and setting birds and animals to fight in public streets.
A Police officer may apprehend and search without warrant—(a)any person found gaming or reasonably suspected to be gaming, in any public street, or thoroughfare, or in any place to which the public have or gaming and are permitted to have access or in any race-course;(b)any person setting any birds or animals to fight in any public street, or thoroughfare, or in any place to which the public have or are permitted to have access;(c)any person there present aiding and abetting such public fighting of birds and animals.Any such person shall, on conviction, be punished both with fine which may extend to three hundred rupees and with imprisonment, which may extend to three months and where such gaining consists of wagering or betting or of any such transaction as is referred to in the definition of gaming given in section 3, any such person so found gaming shall, on conviction, be punishable in the manner and to the extent referred to in section 4, and all moneys found with such person shall be forfeited.Seizer and destruction of instruments found. - And such Police-officer may seize all birds and animals and things reasonably suspected to be instruments of gaming found in such public street, thoroughfare, place or race-course or on or about the person of those whom he shall so arrest, and the Magistrate may, on conviction of the offender, order such instruments to be forthwith destroyed, and such birds and animals to be sold and the proceeds forfeited.When any thing has been found on or about any person and a Court is satisfied that the Police-officer had reasonable grounds for suspecting that such thing was an instrument of gaming, such circumstance shall, untill the contrary is proved, be evidence that such thing was an instrument of gaming and that the person on or about whom the thing was found was present for the purpose of gaming.
