Clause 27

Any person who, during the construction, alteration or demolition of any building or erection or at any time whatsoever, deposits, drops, leaves or places, or causes to be deposited, dropped, left or placed in or onto any public place, any stone, cement, earth, sand, wood or other building material, thing or substance, or who fails to take reasonable precautions to prevent danger to the life, health or well-being of persons using any public place from flying dust or falling fragments or from any other material, thing or substance shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and may be arrested without warrant by any police officer or by any public officer authorised in writing in that behalf by the Commissioner and taken before a Magistrate’s Court and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars.

Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section or of any other written law for the time being in force, any police officer or any public officer who, having effected an arrest in accordance with the provisions of this section, is satisfied as to the identity, name and place of residence of the person arrested, may, in his discretion, instead of taking such person before a Court or to a police station serve upon such person a notice requiring such person to attend at the Court described at the hour and on the date specified in such notice and such notice shall be in such form as may be prescribed under section 142 of this Act.

For the purpose of satisfying himself as to the identity of the person arrested, such police officer or public officer may require the person arrested to furnish such evidence of identity as he may deem necessary.

A duplicate copy of the notice referred to in subsection (2) of this section shall be prepared by the police officer or public officer, as the case may be, and by him, if so required by a Court, produced to such Court.

On an accused person appearing before a Court in pursuance of such a notice, the Court shall take cognizance of the offence alleged and shall proceed as though he were produced before it in pursuance of subsection (1) of this section.

If a person upon whom such a notice has been served as aforesaid fails to appear before a Court in accordance therewith, the Court shall thereupon issue a warrant for the arrest of such person.

Upon a person arrested in pursuance of a warrant issued under subsection (6) of this section being produced before it, a Court shall proceed as though he were produced before it in pursuance of subsection (1) of this section and shall at the conclusion of such proceedings call upon him to show cause why he should not be punished for failing to attend in compliance with the notice delivered to him and if cause be not shown may order him to pay such penalty not exceeding two thousand dollars as the Court thinks fit or may commit him to prison for a term not exceeding two months.

The Magistrate’s Court may, on convicting any person under subsection (1) of this section, order his photograph to be taken by a police photographer or other photographer. Any such photograph may be preserved and may be produced to any Court for the purpose of establishing identity on a subsequent conviction.

Upon the conviction of any person under the provisions of subsection (1) of this section or of subsection (1) of section 26 of this Act, the Commissioner may, in the manner provided in section 119 of this Act, recover from such person the costs and expenses incurred by him in cleaning the public place concerned:Provided that if such person is convicted of an offence committed in the course of his employment, the Commissioner may recover the costs and expenses in the said manner from the employer of such person.

For the purposes of this section, “public officer” includes any officer of any statutory board or body who has been authorised in writing by the Commissioner to carry out all or any of the powers conferred on a public officer by or under this section.