#THE STAGE-CARRIAGES ACT, 1861 
_______ 

##ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
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###PREAMBLE  

###SECTIONS 

1.  Definition of stage-carriage. 

2.  Carriages to be licensed.

3.  Power to refuse license.  
Particulars of license. 

4. Charge for and duration of license. 

5. Particulars to be painted on conspicuous part of carriage. 

6. Penalty for letting carriage without having particulars painted. 

7. Penalty for letting for hire unlicensed carriage. 

8. Penalty for allowing carriage to be drawn by fewer animals or more passengers, etc., to be 
  carried than provided by license. 

9. Penalty for ill-treating animals. 

10. Revocation of license. 

11.  Penalty for not conforming to provisions of section 5. 

12.  Penalty for misconduct on part of drivers. 

13.  Penalty when recoverable from proprietor. 
Proviso. 

14. Issue of summons. 

15. Adjudication of penalties. 

16. Recovery of penalties, etc. 

17. Offender may be apprehended and detained in custody until return of warrant of distress. 

18.  Imprisonment of offender if distress not sufficient. 

19.  [Repealed.]. 

20. Jurisdiction.

20A. Power to make rules. 

21. Interpretation-clause. “Magistrate”.
Act applicable to all animals used for drawing carriages. 

22. Extent of Act.  

23. Power to State Government to exempt. 


 
#THE STAGE-CARRIAGES ACT, 1861 [^1]

##ACT NO. 16 OF 1861 

[7th July, 1861.] 

An Act for licensing and regulating Stage-Carriages.

**Preamble.**—WHEREAS  it  is  expedient  to  license  and  to  regulate  stage-carriages  in the 
Provinces; It is enacted as follows: —

1. **Definition of stage-carriage.** —Every carriage drawn by one or more horses  which  shall 
ordinarily  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  conveying  passengers  for  hire  to  or  from  any  place  in the 
States  shall,  without  regard  to  the  form  or  construction  of  such  carriage,  be  deemed  to  be  a                     
stage-carriage within the meaning of this Act.

2. **Carriages to be licensed.**—No carriage shall be used as a stage-carriage unless licensed by a 
Magistrate or by the Commissioner of Police of a Presidency-town.

3. **Power  to  refuse  license.**—The  Magistrate  or Commissioner  of  Police  to  whom  the 
application for a license of a stage-carriage is made may refuse to license the same, if he shall be of 
opinion  that  such  stage-carriage  is  unserviceable  or  is  unsafe  or  unfit  for  public  accommodation  or 
use.

**Particulars of license.**—If a Magistrate or Commissioner of Police as aforesaid shall grant a 
license, the license shall set forth the number thereof, the name and residence of the proprietor of the 
stage-carriage,  the  place  at  which  his  head  office  is  held,  the  largest  number  of  passengers  and  the 
greatest weight of luggage to be carried in or on such carriage, the number of horses by which such 
carriage is to be drawn, and the name of the place at which such carriage is licensed. 

4. **Charge for and duration of license.**— For  every  such  license  there  shall  be  paid  by  the 
proprietor  of the  stage-carriage  the  sum  of  five  rupees  or such  less sum  as  the State  Government 
may fix, and such license shall be in force for one year from the date thereof.



[^1]. Short title given by the Indian Short Titles Act, 1897 (14 of 1897).

This Act, as amended by the Stage-Carriages Act (1861) Amendment Act, 1898 (1 of 1898), has been declared to apply 
to all the States of India, but not so as to supersede or contravene provisions of local laws dealing with the same subject—see 
s. 22. For local laws, see the Bombay Public Conveyance Act, 1920 (Bom. 7 of 1920), the Madras Hackney Carriage Act, 
1911 (Mad. 5 of 1911), and the Calcutta Hackney Carriage Act, 1919 (Ben. 1 of 1919), cf. also the Hackney Carriage Act, 
1879 (14 of 1879).

It has been declared, by notification under s. 3(a) of the Scheduled Districts Act, 1874 (14 of 1874), to be in force in the 
following Scheduled Districts, namely:—  

The Districts of Hazaribagh, Lohardaga (now the Ranchi 
District, see Calcutta Gazette, 1899, Pt. I, p. 44) and Manbhum,  
and Pargana Dhalbhum and the Kolhan in the District of Singh-  
bhum   .   .    .   .   .    .   .    .    .   .    .   .   .    .   .    .    See Gazette of India, 1881, Pt. I, p. 504. 
The Tarai of the Province of Agra .  .   .   .   .   .   .  .  Ditto          1876, Pt. I, p. 505. 
It  has  been  declared,  by  notification  under  s.  3(a)  of  the  Sonthal  Parganas  Justice  and  Laws  Regulation,  1899                             
(3 of 1899) to be in force in the Sonthal Parganas, see Calcutta Gazette, 1901, Pt. I, p. 301. 
The Act has been amended in Himachal Pradesh by Himachal Pradesh Act 3 of 1974.
 
 

When a licensed stage-carriage is transferred to a new proprietor within the year, the name of such 
new  proprietor  shall,  on  application  to  that  effect,  be  substituted  in  the  license  for  the  name  of  the 
former  proprietor  without  any  further  payment  for  that  year;  and  every  person  who  appears  by  the 
license to be the proprietor, shall be deemed to be such proprietor for all the purposes of this Act.

5. **Particulars to be painted on conspicuous part of carriage.**—On  any  stage-carriage 
being licensed, the proprietor thereof shall cause the number of the license and all the other particulars 
of the license to be distinctly painted in the English language and character upon a conspicuous part of 
such stage-carriage.

6. **Penalty for letting carriage without having particulars painted.**—The proprietor of 
any licensed stage-carriage who shall let such stage-carriage for hire without the particulars specified 
in section 3 being painted on such carriage in the manner directed in the last preceding section, shall 
be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred rupees.

7. **Penalty  for  letting  for  hire  unlicensed  carriage.**—Whoever  lets  for  hire  any 
stage-carriage  without  the  same  being  licensed  as  provided  by  this  Act,  shall  be  liable,  on  a  first 
conviction, to a fine not exceeding one hundred rupees, and on any subsequent conviction, to a fine 
which may extend to five hundred rupees.

8. **Penalty  for  allowing  carriage  to  be  drawn  by fewer  animals  or  more  passengers, 
etc., to be carried than provided by license.**—Any proprietor, or agent of a proprietor, or any 
driver  of  a  licensed  stage-carriage,  who,  knowingly  permits  such  carriage  to  be  drawn  by  a  less 
number of horses, or who knowingly permits a larger number of passengers, or a greater weight of 
luggage, to be carried by such stage-carriage than shall be provided by the license, shall be liable on a 
first conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred rupees, and on any subsequent conviction, to a 
fine which may extend to five hundred rupees. 

In every case where such stage-carriage shall be proved to have been drawn by a less number of 
horses, or to have carried a larger number of passengers or a greater weight of luggage, than shall be 
provided  by  the  license,  the  proprietor  of  such  carriage  shall  be  held  to  have  knowingly  permitted 
such offence, unless he shall prove that the offence was not committed with his connivance, and that 
he  had  taken  every  reasonable  precaution  and  had  made  reasonable  provision  to  prevent  the 
commission of the offence.

9. **Penalty for ill-treating animals.**—Any person who shall cruelly beat, ill-treat, over-drive, 
abuse, torture or cause or procure to be cruelly beaten, ill-treated, overdriven, abused or tortured, any 
horse employed in drawing or harnessed to any stage-carriage, or who shall harness to or drive in any 
stage-carriage any horse which from sickness, age, wounds or other cause is unfit to be driven in such 
stage-carriage, shall for every such offence be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred rupees.

10. **Revocation of license.**—Any Magistrate or Commissioner  of  Police  within  the  local 
limits  of  whose  jurisdiction  any  stage-carriage  shall  ply,  or  who  has  granted  the  license  of  any                   
stage-carriage,  may  cancel  the  license  of  such  stage-carriage  if  it  shall  appear  to  him  that  such                   
stage-carriage  or  any  horse  or  any  harness  used  with  such  carriage  is  unserviceable  or  unsafe  or 
otherwise unfit for public accommodation or use.

11. **Penalty for not conforming to provisions of section 5.**—In  any  station  or  place  in 
which a Magistrate shall reside and be, any police-officer may, in any place within two miles of the 
office of such Magistrate, seize any stage-carriage with the horse harnessed thereto, if the full parti-
culars  of  the  license  of  such  stage-carriage  be  not  distinctly  painted  on  such  stage-carriage  in  the 
manner provided in section 5 of this Act.

Such carriage with the horse harnessed thereto shall be taken without delay by such police-officer 
before  such  Magistrate,  who  shall  forthwith  proceed  to  hear  and  determine  the  complaint  of  such 
police-officer; and, if thereupon any fine is imposed by such Magistrate and such fine is paid, such 
stage-carriage  and  horse  shall  be  immediately  released;  and  if  such  fine  be  not  paid,  such 
stage-carriage and horse may be detained for twenty days as security for the payment thereof; and if 
the fine be not sooner paid, they may be sold and the proceeds applied (so far as they extend) to the 
payment  of  the  said  fine,  and  all  costs  and  charges  incurred  on  account  of  the  detention  and  sale;     
and the surplus (if any), when claimed, shall be paid to the proprietor of such carriage and horse;  and 
if such surplus be not claimed within a further period of two months from such sale, the same shall be 
forfeited to the State. 

If the proceeds of such sale do not fully pay the fine and costs and charges aforesaid, the balance 
may be recovered as hereinafter provided. 

12. **Penalty for misconduct on part of drivers.**—If any driver of any stage-carriage, or any other 
person having the care thereof, shall, through intoxication, neglect, or by wanton or furious driving, or 
by  any  other  misconduct,  endanger  the  safety  of  any  passenger  or  other  person,  or  shall  injure  or 
endanger  the  property  of  the  proprietor  of  such  stage-carriage  or  of  any  other  person,  every  such 
person so offending shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred rupees. 

13. **Penalty when recoverable from proprietor.**—Whenever the driver of any stage-carriage or 
the  owner  of  any  horse  employed  in  drawing  any  stage-carriage  shall  have  committed  any  offence 
against this Act for the commission whereof any penalty is by this Act imposed, other than an offence 
specified in section 8, and such driver or owner shall not be known, or being known cannot be found, 
or if the penalty cannot be recovered from such driver or owner, the proprietor of such carriage shall 
be liable to every such penalty as if he had been the driver of such carriage or owner of such horse at 
the time when such offence was committed:

**Proviso.**—Provided that if any such proprietor shall make out, to the satisfaction of the Magistrate 
before whom any complaint or information shall be heard, by sufficient evidence, that the offence was 
committed by such driver or owner without the privity or knowledge of such proprietor, and that no 
profit, advantage, or benefit, either directly or indirectly, has accrued or can accrue to such proprietor 
therefrom, and that he has used his endeavour to find out such driver or owner, and has done all that 
was in  his  power to  recover the  amount of  the  penalty  from  him,  the Magistrate  may  discharge  the 
proprietor from such penalty, and shall levy the same upon such driver or owner when found.

14. **Issue of summons.**—Whenever  any  charge  is  made  before  any  Magistrate  of  any  offence 
under this Act on which it is necessary to issue a summons to the proprietor of a stage-carriage, the 
Magistrate  shall  issue  such  summons  directed  to  such  proprietor  or  his  nearest  agent,  and  may 
transmit such summons by letter-post, which shall be deemed to be good service thereof.

The letter shall be registered at the post-office, and the cost of the registration shall be borne by the 
Government in the first instance, but may be charged as costs in the case. 

The summons shall allow a reasonable time, in reference to the distance to which the summons is 
sent, for the appearance of such proprietor or his agent as aforesaid. 

15. **Adjudication of penalties.**—All penalties incurred under this Act shall be adjudged  by  a 
Magistrate or Commissioner of Police as aforesaid, and all orders made under this Act by such 
Magistrate or Commissioner of Police shall be final. 

16. **Recovery of penalties, etc.**—All penalties imposed under this Act, or any balance of any fine, 
costs, or charges as mentioned in section 11 of this Act, may in case of non-payment or non-recovery 
thereof be levied by distress and sale of the movable property of the offender by warrant under the 
hand of the Magistrate who imposed the same.

17. **Offender  may  be  apprehended  and  detained  in  custody  until  return  of  warrant  of 
distress.**—In  case  any  such  penalties  shall  not  be  forthwith  paid,  such  Magistrate  may  order  the 
offender to be apprehended and detained in safe custody until the return can be conveniently made to 
such warrant of distress, unless the offender shall give security to the satisfaction of such Magistrate 
for  his  appearance  at  such  place  and  time  as  shall  be  appointed  for  the  return  of  the  warrant  of 
distress. 
                                                      
18. **Imprisonment  of  offender  if  distress  not  sufficient.**—If upon the return of such warrant it 
shall appear that no sufficient distress can be had whereon to levy such penalty, and the same shall not 
be forthwith paid, or in case it shall appear to the satisfaction of such Magistrate by the confession of 
the offender or otherwise that he has not sufficient goods and chattels whereupon such penalty could 
be levied if warrant of distress were issued, such Magistrate may, by warrant under his hand, commit 
the offender to prison, there to be imprisoned, according to the discretion of such officer, for any 
term  not exceeding  two  calendar  months  when the  amount  of  penalty  shall  not  exceed fifty  rupees, 
and for any term not exceeding four calendar months when the amount shall not exceed one hundred 
rupees, and for any term not exceeding six calendar months in any other case, the commitment to be 
determinable in each of the cases aforesaid on payment of the amount. 

19. *[Recovery of penalty and costs from European British subjects.] Rep. by the A.O.* 1950.

20. **Jurisdiction.**—On complaint made before any Magistrate of any offence committed under this 
Act, it shall not be necessary to prove that the offence was committed within the local limits of such 
Magistrate or other officer.

20A. **Power to make rules.**—(1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official 
Gazette,  make  rules  to  carry  out  the  purposes  and  objects  of  this  Act  in  the  territories  under  its 
administration or any part of the said territories.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may—  

	(a) prescribe forms for licenses under this Act, the sums payable for the same and the 
conditions on which they may be granted, and the cases in which they may be revoked; 

	(b) provide for the inspection of stage-carriages, and of the animals employed in drawing them; 
and 

	(c)  regulate  the  number  and  length of the stages for which animals may be driven in 
stage-carriages, and the manner in which they shall be harnessed and yoked. 

(3) In making any rule under this section the State Government may direct that a breach thereof 
shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one hundred rupees.

21. **Interpretation-clause. “Magistrate.”**—The  term  “Magistrate”  in  this  Act  shall  include  all 
Magistrates and other persons exercising the powers of a Magistrate: 

**Act  applicable  to  all  animals  used  for  drawing  carriages.**— All  expressions  and  provisions 
which in this Act are applied to horses shall also apply to all other animals employed in drawing any 
carriage ordinarily used for the purpose of conveying passengers for hire to or from any place in the 
States:

22. **Extent of Act.** —This Act, as amended by subsequent Acts, extends to the whole of India 
except the territories which, immediately before the 1st November, 1956, were comprised in Part B 
States;  but  it  shall  not  apply  to  carriages  ordinarily  plying  for  hire  within  the  limits  of  any 
municipality or cantonment or other place in which any law for the regulation of carriages is for the 
time being in force.

23. **Power to State Government to exempt.** —The State Government may, by notification in 
the Official Gazette, exempt any carriage or class of carriages from all or any of the provisions of this 
Act.