 bw no 101 of 188& the delhi fire prevention and fire safety bill, 1988 a billto 'l'nake more effective provibion fo'l' thle fire prevention and fire salet!1 - measures in certain buildings and premises in the union territof1l of delhi be it enacted by parliament in the thirty-seventh year of the repubuc of india as follows:- 1 (1) this act may be called the delhi fire prevention and fire safety act, 1986 5 (2) it extendc; to the-whole of th~ union territory of delhi short tme, extent and coiiuiledc:e-1t1eflt (3) it shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notification in the official gazett~, appoint 2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requjres,-deflnl iions 10 06 0119"7 (a) "administrator" means the admini'strator of delhi appointed by the president under articl~ 239 of the constitution;  ~ (b) "appellate tribunal" means the appellate tribunal constituted under section 347 a of the delhi municipal corporation act, 1957; (c) "building" means a house, outhouse, stable, latrine, urinal, shed, hut, wall (other than a boundary wall) or any other structure, whether of masonry bricks, wood, mud, metal or other material; (d) "building bye-laws" means the bynaws made under section 28: of the cantonments act, 1924 or the bye-laws made under section puojab act ill of 1911 61 of 1917 481 of the delhi municipal coxporation act, 1~7 or the by  :iawi made under section 188, sub-section (3) of section 189 and sub-section ,(1) of section 190 of the punjab municipal act, 1911, as in force in new delhi or the regulations made under sub-section (1) of section 57 of the delhi development act, 1957, relating to buildings; 5 66 ot 1957 (e) iichief fire officer" means the chief fire ofticer appointed by' the municipal corporation of delhi established under the delhi municipal corporation act, 19m; (1) "delhi" means the union territory of delhi; (g) "fire prevention and fire safety measures" means such 10 mtasures as are necessary in accordance with the bullding byelaws for the prevention, control and fighting of fire and for ensuring the safety of life and property in case of fire; (h) "lpcal authority" means the delhi cantonment board established under the cantonments act, 1924, the delhi development 15 2 of 1924 authority established under the delhi development act, 1957, the 61 of 1957 delhi municipal corporation established under the delhi municipal corporation act, 1957, the new delhi municipal committee established 66 of 1957 under the punjab municipal act, 1911, as in force in new delhi or punjab any other authority under any other law, which may be notified 20 ~~~ in this behalf by the administrator with the prior approval of the  central government; (i) "nominated authority" means an officer not below the rank of a station officer nominated by the chief fire officer, and includes an officer nominated by a local authority or a railway 25 administration as a nominated authority for the purposes of this act· , (j) "occupier" includes-(i) any person who for the time being is paying or is liable to pay to the owner the rent or any portion of the rent of the land go or building in respect of which such rent is paid or is payable; (ii) an owner in occupation of, or otherwise using his land or building; (ui) a rent-free tenant of any land or building; (i1j) a licensee in occupation of any land or building; and 3~ (v) any person who is liable to pay to the owner damages for the use and occupation of any land or building; (k) "owner" includes a person who for the time being is receiving or is entitled to receive, the rent of any land or building whether on his own account or on account of himself and others or as an agent, 4 trustee, guardian or receiver or any oth4u- person or who should so receive the rent or be entitled to receive it if the land or building or part thereof wer~ let to a tenant and also includes-(i) the custodian of evacuee property in respect of evacuee property vested in him under the administration of evacuee 41': prope'rty act, 1950; ~ 31 of 1950 (ii) the director of estates of the government of india, the oj , secretary of the delhi development authority, constituted under tbe delhi development act, 1957, the pt1eral manaaer 'of a 61 of 'ie', railway and the h of a government department, in respect of propej'ties under their respective control; 5  (z) "premises" means any land or any building or part of a building appurtenant thereto which is used for storing explosives, explosive substances and dangerously inflammable substances  oll  6ofl908 exp'14114tion-in this clause, "explosive", "explosive substances" and "dangerously inflammable substances" shall have the meanings, resoectively, assigned to them in the explosives act, 1884, the explosive substances act, 1908 and the inflammable substances act, 1952 i 20 of 1951 10  !:nipeetion of buildings, premises etc 3 ~1) the nominated authority may, after giving' tnree hours' notice ·to the occupier, or, if there be no occupier, to the owner of any building having such heijl'ht as may be specified by rules framed under this act, 15 "l" premises, enter and ·inspect ·the said building or premises at any time between sunrise and sunset where such inspection appears necessary for ascertaining the adequacy or contravention of fire prevention and fire safety measures: provided that the nominatid authority may enter into and insdect any lio "'undin~ or premises at any time if it apnears to it to be exdecuent and "ip('essary to do so in order to ensure safety of life and property (2\ the' nominated authority shall be provided with all po!;sible assis  tance tiv the owner 01" occupier, as the caose may be of the building or premises for carrying out the inspection under sub-section (1) (3) when anv buildin~ or premisec; used as a human dwe11in~ is tl5 entered under sub--section (1), due re~ard shall be paid to the social and -ehlrlnu!; sentiment's of the oecupiers; and before anv apartment ill the dctua! occupancy of any woman who accordinl! to the culitom does not andear in "ublic, is entered under sub-section '(1) notice shall be ~ven to her that she is at liberty to withdraw, and every reasonable facility :jo shall be afforded to her for withdrawing ileasures for ftr prevention andftre satltty :c '(lr the nominated autliority shall after the completion of the ijlst,)ection of the building or premises under section 3 record its views on the aeviations from, or the contraventions of tlie· building bve-laws with re~ard to tlie fire prevention and fire safety measures and the s5 inaclequacy of such measures provided therein ~th reference 'to ·the 'hp! f7bt of the building or the nature of aetivities carried nn in such bui1din~ or premises and issue a notice to the owner or :>ecnpier of sucn huilainl!' or premises directing him to undertake such' measures as may lie rpeciflecl in tlie notice 40 '(2)' tjie nominated authorit~ shall also give a report of any inspection made liy it under section 3 to the chief fire officer power to seal ii buildinlfs or premises s '(1)' wnere, on receipt of a redort from the nominated authority 11n"er rub-!iieetion  (2), of section, 4 it apnears to the chief fire officpf tllat tlie condition of any 1:iuildingo or premises is dan~erous to life or +5 property, lie shall, without prejudice to any action taken uncler se:tion ~' 1;y oraer, require tlie persons in possession or occudation of such build·· inlt or premises to reffl,9ve themselves from such building' or premisor;: forthwith', (2) if an order made by t1c chief fire ofbcer under subsection (1) is not complied with, the chief fire officer may direct any police oftlctr having jurisdiction in the area to remove such persons from the building or premises and such oftlcer shall comply with such directions (3) after the removal of the persons under sub-section (1) or sub-5 'seetion (2), as the case may be the chief fire officer shall seal the building or prem • (4) no person shall remove such seal eseept under an order made by the chief fire ofbcer 6 (1) notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the 10 provision r8lardinl certain buiidinp and pre mises lime being, in force, the chief fire officer may enter and inspect any building, the construction of which was completed on or before the 6th day of june, 1983 (being the date on which the current building bye-laws had come into force) or any building which was under construction on 5 such date if such inspection appears necessary for ascertaining the j adequacy of fire prevention and fire safety measures in such building (2) the entry and inspection under sub-section (1) shall be done by the chief fire officer in the manner laid down in section 3 (3) the chief fire officer shall, after inspection of the building or nremises under sub-section (1), and aftel: taking into consideration- !io (i) the provisions of the building bye-laws in ac~ordance ""ith which 1he plan of the said building or premises was sanctioned; (ii) the conditions imoosed if any, bv the local authority at the time of the sanctjon of the plan of the said building or premises; and (iii) the minimum standards for fire prevention and fire safety 25 measures specified for such building or premises under the rules framed under this act, issue a notice to the owner or ~pjer of sue" buildinl:( or premises stating therein the inrdequbcv in re~ard to the fire prevention and fire safety measures in it and direct the owner or oecuoier to undertake mea go sures for rectifying the said inadequacy within such period as he may consider just and reasonable 7 (1) the chief fire' officer shall, in the event of non-compliance of any notice issued under section 4 or section 6, take 'such steps as may be necesaary for the compliance of such notice 35 default powers of the chief eve ofticer (z) all expenses incurred by the chief fire offteer in tel at; on to any 'steps taktm by him un-fer sub section (1) shall he 'davable by the own~ or occupier on demand and shall, if not paid within ten days after such demand, be recoverable as arrears of land revenue  - '\ppeals 8 (1) any person aggrieved bv any notice or order of the 4° nominated authority or the chief fire officer may prefer an appeal against such notice or order to the appellate tribunal within thirty days from the date of the notice or order appealed against: provided that the appellate tribune} may entertain an appeal after the expiry of the said period of thirtv davs ilit is satisfied that there was 43 sufficient caucle fot: not filing it within that period '(2) an a,pp,eal shall lie to the administrator avainst the omet of the appellate tribunal confirming, modifyinl!' or annul1in~ a notice ot' an order issued or made under this act within thirty days from the date of the o~er of the appellate tribunal: '  so provided that tho admidietrator may entertain an appeal after tlie expiry of the said period of thirty days if he is satisfted that there wu sufftcient cause for not ftlin's it within that period (3) an appeal to the appellate tribunal or the administrator shall 5 be made in such form and shall be accompanied by a copy of the notice or order appealed against and by iuch fees u may be specified by rulea made under this act (4) the provisions of section 347c of th  delhi municipal corporation 66 of 1957 act, 1957, and the rules made thereunder, shall, so far as may be, apply j n to the disposal of an appeal under this section all; they apply to the disposal of an appeal under that act bar of juriadietiod of courti 9 no court shall entertain any suit, application or othe'r proceed  ing in respect of nny notice or order under this act and no such notice or order shall be called in question otherwise than by preferring an appeal 15 under this act ' if) whoever contravenes any provision of this act shall, without pre-penaltiel judice to any other action taken against him under section 7, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees, or with both and 1010 where the offence is a continuing one, with a further flne which may extend to three thousand rupees for every day after the first during which such offence' continues ~ offeneel by com-panies 11 (1) where an offence under this act has been committed by a company, every person who at the time the offence was committed, was 25 in charge of, and was responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of thp company, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly: provided that nolhing contained in this sub-section shall render any :;0 such person liable to any punishment if he proves that the offence wu (!nmmitted without his knowledgp or that he had exercised all due diu-~ence to prevent t11e rommission of such oft'ence (~) notwithstanding an"thing ('ontained in sub-section (1), where any offence under this act haq been committed bv a company and it is proved 35 tnat the offence has been ~ommitted with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any ne~lect on the part of, anv director, mana~r, secretary or other officer of the companv such director manal!el" seen!-tary or other officer shall also be deemed to be ~untv of tltat offence and shall be liabje to he proce~ded against and punished accordingly 40 e:t'pktnation-for the purposes of this section,-(n) "company" means a body rorporate an~ includer a firm or other association of individnalb: and (0) "director", in relation to a flrm, means a partner in the firm sanction o{ prolecutlon 12 no court shall proceed to the trial of an offence under this act, 45 except on the complaint of or upon information received hom, the nominated authority 13 no court inf'erior to that of a metropolitan mrgisn-ate shall try' an jmildicoffence punirhabje under this act dod protection 1'- ,no suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any of aetion period for anything which is in good faith done oj" intended to be done ::t f~th under this act or any rules made thereunder offers to be public aervant 15 every officer acting under the provisions of this act shall be cleemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the 5 indian penal code 4$ of 1860 16 (1) the administrator may, by notification in the official gazette, make rules for ~g out the provisions of this act power to make raj- (2) in particular, and without prejudice to the generality of ,the foregoing power, such rules may provide for-10 (4) the height of the building under sub-section (1) of section 3; (b) the minimum standards for fire preventi0s:t and fire safety memures for the purposes of clause (iii) of sub-section (3) of section 8~ ! (c) the form in which an appeal shall be made and the fees that 15 shall accompany such appeal under sub-section (3) of section 8; (d) any other matter which is required to be provided by rules (3) the central government shall cause every rule made under this act to be laid, as liioon as may be after it is made, before each house of parliament, v hile it is in session, for a total period of thirty day$ which 20 may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive' sessions, and if, before the expiry 'of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both h9uses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shnll thereafter have effect only in such modified form or 25 be of no effect, as the case ma~' be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previowlly done under that ru1e  statement of objects and reasonsthe delhi fire brigade, which is controlled by the delhi municipal corporation, is responsible for taking fire-fighting and fire safety, measures in the entire union territory of delhi the existing provisions in the delhi municipal corporation act, 1957, to enf~rce the fire safety measures, particularly in multi-storey buildings, had been found to be most inadequate in the absence of the necessary statutory authority for the fire prevention enforcement agencies to compel the owners of buildings to carry out the necessary measures for prevention of fires no specific penalties are provided in the act for the contravention of any ftre safety measures and such penalties are also not adequate enough to effectively curb the violations of the fire prevention measures provided under the act it has also been found that the owners of buildings do not provide the necessary fire safety measures in buildings as required by the building plans approved by local authorities although the delhi fire brigade exercises jurisdiction over the' entire union territory of delhi, the four local authorities existing in the union territory of delhi are governed by their own respective laws and there is no unified single agency which is clothed with the necessary powers to coordinate the fire prevention, fighting or safety measures in view of this position, it is felt that in order to eft'ectively control the fires occurring in the union territory of delhi and to take necessary safety measures for the prevention of such fires, it is necessarr to provide for fire prevention and fire safety measures in the union territory of delhi 2 the bill, accordinely, provides for the following, among other matters namely:- (i) all buildings having such height as may be specified by rules and premises used for storing exp1osives, explosive bubstances and dangerously in1jammable substances, shall be provided with the requisite fire prevention and fire safety measures (u) provision has been made for inspection of buildings and premise~ by the nominated authority, appointed by the chief fire officer, for ascertaining the adequacy or contraventio~ of fire prevention and fire safety measures required to be taken by the occu pier or owner of the building or i?remises (iii) contravention of any of the provisions of the bill will be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine extending to fifty thousand rupees, or with both in the case of continuing offences, the o1fender will be liable for punishment of fine up to three thousand rupees for every day for which the offellce is continued (tv) provision for an appeal aga1dbt any notice or order of the chief fire ofticer or the nominated authority to the appellate tribunal and against the wder of the appellate tribunal to the administrator has been proposed 3 the bill seeks to achieve the above objects , '1 arun nehru the 12th augult, 1986 clause 16 of the bill empowers the administrator to make rules for carrying out the provisions of the bill the matters with rebptect to which rules may be made relate to the height of the building, the minimum standards for fire prevention and fire safety measures, the form in which an appeal ii made, the fees payable in respect of such appeal and any other matter which is required to be provided by rules 2 the matters in relation to which the power to make rules is proposed to be conferred on the administrator are matters of procedure and administrative detail the delegation of legislative power is therefore f)f a normal cliaracter  a billto make more effective provision for the fire prevention and fire safety measures in certain buildings and premises in the union territory of delhi (shri arun nehru, minister of state in the depart·ment of internat security) 