#THE COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY ACT, 1952 
________ 

##ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
________ 

SECTIONS 

1. Short title, extent and commencement. 
2. Definitions. 
2A. [Omitted.] 
3. Appointment of Commission. 
4. Powers of Commission. 
5. Additional powers of Commission. 
5A. Power of Commission to utilise the services of certain officers and investigation agencies for 
  conducting investigation pertaining to inquiry. 
5B. Power of Commission to appoint assessors. 
6. Statements made by persons to the Commission. 
6A. Persons not obliged to disclose secret process of manufacture of goods in certain cases. 
7. Commission to cease to exist when so notified. 
8. Procedure to be followed by the Commission. 
8A. Inquiry  not  to  be  interrupted  by  reason  of  vacancy  or  change  in  the  constitution  of  the 
  Commission. 
8B. Persons likely to be prejudicially affected to be heard. 
8C. Right of cross-examination and representation by legal practitioner. 
9. Protection of action taken in good faith. 
10. Members, etc., to be public servants. 
10A. Penalty for acts calculated to bring the Commission or any member thereof into disrepute. 
11. Act to apply to other inquiring authorities in certain cases. 
12. Power to make rules. 




#THE COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY ACT, 1952 

##ACT NO. 60 OF 1952

[14th August, 1952.] 

An Act  to  provide  for  the  appointment  of  Commissions  of  Inquiry  and  for  vesting  such 
  Commissions with certain powers. 

  BE it enacted by Parliament as follows:— 

1. **Short title, extent and commencement.**—(1)  This  Act  may  be  called  the  Commissions  of 
Inquiry Act, 1952. 

(2) It extends to the whole of India: 

(3) It shall come into force on such date[^1] as the Central Government may, by notification in the 
Official Gazette, appoint. 

2. **Definitions.**—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— 

  (a) “appropriate Government” means— 

     (i) the  Central  Government,  in  relation  to  a  Commission  appointed  by  it  to  make  an 
inquiry into any matter relatable to any of the entries enumerated in List I or List II or List III 
in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution; and 

     (ii) the State Government, in relation to a Commission appointed by it to make an inquiry 
into any matter relatable to any of the entries enumerated in List II or List III in the Seventh 
Schedule to the Constitution: 

[^2] 		*		*		*		*		*

  (b) “Commission” means a Commission of Inquiry appointed under section 3; 

  (c) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act. 

[^1]. 1st  October,  1952,  vide  Notification  No.  S.R.O.  1670,  dated  the  30th  September,  1952,  see  Gazette  of  India, 
Extraordinary, Part II, s. 3. 

  This Act, as amended by Act 79 of 1971, came into force in the State of Jammu and Kashmir on 6-3-1972 and in the 
districts of Kohima and Mokokchung in the State of Nagaland on 15-2-1972, vide notification No. 94(E), dated 4-3-1972 
and 74(E), dated 14-2-1972, respectively, issued under s. 15 of Act 79 of 1972. 

[^2]. The  Proviso  omitted  by  the  Jammu  and  Kashmir  Reorganization  (Adaptation  of  Central  Laws)  Order,  2020,  vide 
notification  No.  S.O.  1123(E)  dated  (18-3-2020)  and vide  Union  Territory  of  Ladakh  Reorganisation  (Adaptation  of 
Central Laws) Order, 2020, Notification No. S.O. 3774(E), dated (23-10-2020). 

 
 
2A. *[Construction  of  references  to  laws  not  in  force  in  the  State  of  Jammu  and  Kashmir [^3].]— 
omitted by the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Adaptation of Central Laws) Order, 2020, vide 
notification No. S.O. 1123(E), dated (18-3-2020) and vide Union Territory of Ladakh Reorganisation 
(Adaptation of Central Laws) Order, 2020, Notification No. S.O. 3774(E), dated* (23-10-2020).] 

3. **Appointment of Commission.**—(1) The appropriate Government may, if it is of opinion that it 
is necessary so to do, and shall if a resolution in this behalf is passed by each House of Parliament 
or, as the case may be, the Legislature of the State, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint a 
Commission  of  Inquiry  for  the  purpose  of  making  an  inquiry  into  any  definite  matter  of  public 
importance  and  performing  such  functions  and  within  such  time  as  may  be  specified  in  the 
notification,  and  the  Commission  so  appointed  shall  make  the  inquiry  and  perform  the  functions 
accordingly: 

  Provided that where any such Commission has been appointed to inquire into any matter— 

  (a) by the Central Government, no State Government shall, except with the approval of  the 
Central Government, appoint another Commission to inquire into the same matter for so long as 
the Commission appointed by the Central Government is functioning; 

  (b) by a State Government, the Central Government shall not appoint another Commission to 
inquire into the same matter for so long as the Commission appointed by the State Government is 
functioning, unless the Central Government is of opinion that the scope of the inquiry should be 
extended to two or more States. 

(2) The  Commission  may  consist  of  one  or  more  members  appointed  by  the  appropriate 
Government,  and  where  the  Commission  consists  of  more  than  one  member,  one  of  them  may  be 
appointed as the Chairman thereof. 

(3)  The  appropriate  Government  may,  at  any  stage  of  an  inquiry  by  the  Commission  fill  any 
vacancy which may have arisen in the office of a member of the Commission (whether consisting of 
one or more than one member). 

(4) The appropriate Government shall cause to be laid before each House of Parliament or, as 
the case  may  be,  the  Legislature  of the  State, the report,  if  any,  of  the  Commission  on the  inquiry 
made  by  the  Commission  under  sub-section (1)  together  with  a  memorandum  of  the  action  taken 
thereon,  within  a  period  of  six  months  of  the  submission  of  the  report  by  the  Commission  to  the 
appropriate Government.

4. **Powers of Commission.**—The Commission shall have the powers of a civil court, while trying 
a  suit  under  the  Code  of  Civil  Procedure,  1908  (5  of  1908),  in  respect  of  the  following  matters, 
namely:— 

  (a) summoning  and  enforcing  the  attendance  of  any  person  from  any  part  of  India and 
examining him on oath; 

  (b) requiring the discovery and production of any document; 

  (c) receiving evidence on affidavits; 

  (d) requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office; 

  (e) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents; 

  (f) any other matter which may be prescribed. 

[^3]. Vide  Notification  No.  S.O.  3912  (E),  dated  30th  October,  2019,  this  Act  is  made  applicable  to  the  Union  territory  of 
Jammu and Kashmir and the Union territory of Ladakh. 



5. **Additional powers of Commission.**—(1)  Where  the  appropriate  Government  is  of  opinion 
that, having regard to the nature of the inquiry to be made and other circumstances of the case, all or 
any of the provisions of sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) or sub-section (5) should 
be made applicable to a Commission, the appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official 
Gazette, direct that all or such of the said provisions as may be specified in the notification shall apply 
to  that  Commission  and  on  the  issue  of  such  a  notification,  the  said  provisions  shall  apply 
accordingly. 

(2) The Commission shall have power to require any person, subject to any privilege which may 
be claimed by that person under any law for the time being in force, to furnish information on such 
points  or  matters  as,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Commission,  may  be  useful  for,  or  relevant  to,  the 
subject  matter  of  the  inquiry and  any  person  so  required  shall  be  deemed  to  be  legally  bound  to 
furnish such information within the meaning of section 176 and section 177 of the Indian Penal Code 
(45 of 1860). 

(3) The Commission or any officer, not below the rank of a Gazetted Officer, specially authorised 
in this behalf by the Commission may enter any building or place where the Commission has reason 
to believe that any books of account or other documents relating to the subject matter of the inquiry 
may be found, and may seize any books of account or documents or take extracts or copies therefrom, 
subject  to  the  provisions  of  section  102  and  section  103  of  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure, 1898 
(5 of 1898), in so far as they may be applicable. 

(4) The Commission shall be deemed to be a civil court and when any offence as is described in 
section  175,  section  178,  section  179,  section  180  or  section  228  of  the  Indian  Penal  Code 
(45  of  1860)  is  committed  in  the  view  or  presence  of  the  Commission,  the  Commission  may,  after 
recording  the  facts  constituting  the  offence  and  the  statement  of  the  accused  as  provided  for  in  the 
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898), forward the case to a magistrate having jurisdiction to 
try  the  same  and  the  magistrate  to  whom  any  such  case  is  forwarded  shall  proceed  to  hear  the 
complaint against the accused as if the case had been forwarded to him under section 482 of the Code 
of Criminal Procedure, 1898. 

(5) Any proceeding before the Commission shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the 
meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860). 

5A. **Power  of  Commission  to  utilise  the  services  of  certain  officers  and  investigation 
agencies  for  conducting  investigation  pertaining  to  inquiry.**—(1)  The  Commission  may,  for  the 
purpose of conducting any investigation pertaining to the inquiry, utilise the services,— 

  (a) in  the  case  of  a  Commission  appointed  by  the  Central  Government,  of  any  officer  or 
investigation agency of the Central Government or any State Government with the concurrence of 
the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be; or 

  (b) in  the  case  of  a  Commission  appointed  by  the  State  Government,  of  any  officer  or 
investigation agency of the State Government or Central Government with the concurrence of the 
State Government or the Central Government, as the case may be. 

(2) For  the  purpose  of  investigating  into  any  matter  pertaining  to  the  inquiry,  any  officer  or 
agency whose services are utilised under sub-section (1) may, subject to the direction and control of 
the Commission,— 

  (a) summon and enforce the attendance of any person and examine him; 

  (b) require the discovery and production of any document; and 

  (c) requisition any public record or copy thereof from any office. 

(3) The provisions of section 6 shall apply in relation to any statement made by a person before 
any officer or agency whose services are utilised under sub section (1) as they apply in relation to any 
statement made by a person in the course of giving evidence before the Commission. 

(4) The officer or agency, whose services are utilised under sub-section (1), shall investigate into 
any matter pertaining to the inquiry and submit a report thereon (hereafter in this section referred to as 
the  investigation  report)  to  the  Commission  within  such  period  as  may  be  specified  by  the 
Commission in this behalf. 

(5)  The  Commission  shall  satisfy  itself  about  the  correctness  of  the  facts  stated  and  the 
conclusions, if any, arrived at in the investigation report submitted to it under sub-section (4), and for 
this  purpose  the  Commission  may  make  such  inquiry  (including  the  examination  of  the  person  or 
persons who conducted or assisted in the investigation) as it thinks fit.

5B. **Power of Commission to appoint assessors.**—The Commission may, for the purpose of 
conducting any inquiry, appoint persons having special knowledge of any matter connected with the 
inquiry  as  assessors,  to  assist  and  advise  the  Commission  in  the  inquiry  and  the  assessors  shall  be 
entitled to such travelling and other expenses as may be prescribed.

6. **Statements  made  by  persons  to  the  Commission.**—No statement made  by  a  person  in the 
course of giving evidence before the Commission shall subject him to, or be used against him in, any 
civil or criminal proceeding except a prosecution for giving false evidence by such statement: 

  Provided that the statement— 

  (a) is made in reply to a question which he is required by the Commission to answer, or 

  (b) is relevant to the subject matter of the inquiry. 

6A. **Persons  not  obliged  to  disclose  secret  process  of  manufacture  of  goods  in  certain 
cases.**—Except  in  cases  where  a  Commission  is  expressly  required  to  inquire  into  the  process  of 
manufacture of any goods, nothing in this Act shall be deemed to compel any person giving evidence 
before the Commission to disclose any secret process of manufacture thereof.

7. **Commission to cease to exist when so notified.**—(1) The appropriate Government may, by 
notification in the Official Gazette, declare that— 

  (a) a Commission (other than a Commission appointed in pursuance of a resolution passed by 
each  House  of  Parliament  or,  as  the  case  may  be,  the  Legislature  of  the  State shall cease to 
exist, if it is of opinion that the continued existence of the Commission is unnecessary; 

  (b) a  Commission  appointed  in  pursuance  of  a  resolution  passed  by each House of 
Parliament or, as the case may be, the Legislature of the State shall cease to exist if a resolution 
for the discontinuance of the Commission is passed by each House of Parliament or, as the case 
may be, the Legislature of the State. 

(2) Every  notification  issued  under  sub-section  (1)  shall  specify  the  date  from  which  the 
Commission shall cease to exist and on the issue of such notification, the Commission shall cease to 
exist with effect from the date specified therein.

8. **Procedure to be followed by the Commission.**—The Commission shall, subject to any rules 
that  may  be  made  in  this behalf,  have  power  to regulate  its  own  procedure  (including  the  fixing  of 
places and times of its sittings and deciding whether to sit in public or in private). 

8A. **Inquiry not to be interrupted by reason of vacancy or change in the constitution of the 
Commission.**—(1) Where  the  Commission  consists  of  two  or  more  members,  it  may  act 
notwithstanding  the  absence  of  the  Chairman  or  any  other  member  or  any  vacancy  among  its 
members. 

(2) Where during the course of an inquiry before a Commission, a change has taken place in the 
constitution of the Commission by reason of any vacancy having been filled or by any other reason, it 
shall not be necessary for the Commission to commence the inquiry a fresh and the  inquiry may be 
continued from the stage at which the change took place. 

8B. **Persons likely to be prejudicially affected to be heard.**—If, at any stage of the inquiry, the 
Commission,— 

  (a) considers it  necessary to inquire into the conduct of any person; or 

  (b) is of opinion that the reputation of any person is likely to be prejudicially affected by the 
inquiry, 

the Commission shall give to that person a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the inquiry and to 
produce evidence in his defence: 

  Provided that nothing in this section shall apply where the credit of a witness is being impeached. 

8C. **Right  of  cross-examination  and  representation  by  legal  practitioner.**—The  appropriate 
Government, every person referred to in section 8B and, with the permission of the Commission, any 
other person whose evidence is recorded by the Commission,— 

  (a) may cross-examine a witness other than a witness produced by it or him; 

  (b) may address the Commission; and 

  (c) may be represented before the Commission by a legal practitioner or, with the permission 
of the Commission, by any other person.

9. **Protection of action taken in good faith.**—No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against 
the appropriate Government, the Commission or any member thereof, or any person acting under the 
direction either of the appropriate Government or of the Commission in respect of anything which is 
in  good  faith  done  or  intended  to  be  done  in  pursuance  of  this  Act  or  of  any  rules  or  orders  made 
thereunder or in respect of the publication, by or under the authority of the appropriate Government or 
the Commission, of any report, paper or proceedings. 

10. **Members, etc., to be public servants.**—Every member of the Commission and every officer 
appointed or authorised by the Commission in exercise of functions under this Act shall be deemed to 
be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860). 

10A. **Penalty  for  acts  calculated  to  bring  the  Commission  or  any  member  thereof  into 
disrepute.**—(1) If any person, by words either spoken or intended to be read, makes or publishes any 
statement or does any other act, which is calculated to bring the Commission or any member thereof 
into disrepute, he shall be punishable with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six 
months, or with fine, or with both. 

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), 
when an offence under sub-section (1) is alleged to have been committed, the High Court may take 
cognizance of such offence, without the case being committed to it, upon a complaint in writing, made 
by a member of a Commission or an officer of the Commission authorised by it in this behalf. 

(3) Every complaint referred to it in sub-section (2) shall set forth the facts which constitute the 
offence alleged, the nature of such offence and such other particulars as are reasonably sufficient to 
give notice to the accused of the offence alleged to have been committed by him. 

(4) No High Court shall take cognizance of an offence under sub-section (1) unless the complaint 
is made within six months from the date on which the offence is alleged to have been committed. 

(5) A  High  Court  taking  cognizance  of  an  offence  under  sub-section  (1)  shall  try  the  case  in 
accordance  with  the  procedure  for  the  trial  of  warrant  cases  instituted  otherwise  than  on  a  police 
report before a court of a Magistrate: 

  Provided  that  the  personal  attendance  of  a  member  of  a  Commission  as  a  complainant  or 
otherwise is not required in such trial. 

(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) an 
appeal shall lie as a matter of right from any judgment of the High Court to the Supreme Court, both 
on facts and on law. 

(7) Every appeal to the Supreme Court under sub-section (6) shall be preferred within a period of 
thirty days from the date of the judgment appealed from: 

  Provided  that the  Supreme  Court  may  entertain  an  appeal after the  expiry  of  the  said  period  of 
thirty days if it is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within 
the period of thirty days.

11. **Act  to  apply  to  other  inquiring  authorities  in  certain  cases.**—Where any  authority  (by 
whatever  name  called),  other  than  a  Commission  appointed  under  section  3,  has  been  or  is  set  up 
under  any  resolution  or  order  of  the  appropriate  Government  for  the  purpose  of  making  an  inquiry 
into any definite matter of public importance and that Government is of opinion that all or any of the 
provisions of this Act should be made applicable to that authority, that Government may, subject to 
the prohibition contained in the proviso to sub section (1) of section 3, by notification in the Official 
Gazette,  direct that  the  said  provisions  of  this  Act  shall apply  to  that  authority,  and  on  the  issue  of 
such a notification, that authority shall be deemed to be a Commission appointed under section 3 for 
the purposes of this Act. 

12. **Power to make rules.**—(1) The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official 
Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act. 

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may 
provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:— 

  (a) the term of office and the conditions of service of the members of the Commission; 

  (b) the  manner  in  which  inquiries  may  be  held  under  this  Act  and  the  procedure  to  be 
followed by the Commission in respect of the proceedings before it; 

  (c) the powers of civil court which may be vested in the Commission; 

  (cc) the travelling and other expenses payable to assessors appointed under section 5B, and 
to person summoned by the Commission to give evidence or to produce documents before it;

  (d) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed. 

(3) Every rule made by the Central Government under this section shall be laid, as soon as may 
be after it is made, before each House of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty 
days which 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 Houses agree that the rule should not be 
made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case 
may  be;  so,  however,  that  any  such  modification  or  annulment  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  the 
validity of anything previously done under that rule.

(4) Every rule made by the State Government under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be 
after it is made, before the State Legislature.