#THE MARITIME ANTI-PIRACY ACT, 2022 
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##ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
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SECTIONS 

1. Short title, commencement and application. 
2. Definitions. 
3. Punishment for piracy. 
4. Punishment for attempt to commit piracy, etc. 
5. Punishment for organising or directing others to participate in an act of piracy. 
6. Conferment of power of arrest, investigation, etc. 
7. Arrest of persons and seizure of ship and property. 
8. Designated Court. 
9. Jurisdiction of Designated Court. 
10. Trial of offences by Designated Court. 
11. Presumption. 
12. Provisions as to bail. 
13. Application of Code in proceedings before Designated Court. 
14. Provision as to extradition. 
15. Protection of action taken in good faith. 



#THE MARITIME ANTI-PIRACY ACT, 2022 

##ACT NO. 3 OF 2023 

[31st January, 2023.] 

An  Act  to  give  effect  to  the  United  Nations  Convention  on  the  Law  of  the  Sea  relating  to 
  repression of piracy on high seas and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. 

WHEREAS India is a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea adopted by the United 
Nations on the 10th December, 1982 and has ratified the same on the 29th June, 1995; 

AND WHEREAS the aforesaid Convention, among other things, states that all States shall co-operate to the 
fullest possible extent in the repression of piracy on high seas; 

AND  WHEREAS  India,  having  ratified  the  said  Convention,  considers  it  necessary  to  give  effect  to  the 
aforesaid Convention relating to piracy. 

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Seventy-third Year of the Republic of India as follows:— 

1. **Short title, commencement and application.**—(1) This Act may be called the Maritime 
Anti-Piracy Act, 2022. 

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

(3) The provisions of this Act shall apply to the high seas. 

2. **Definitions.**—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— 

  (a) “authorised personnel” means the officers and sailors assigned to warships or military aircraft 
of the Indian Navy or officers and enrolled persons of the Coast Guard assigned to ships or aircraft of 
the Indian Coast Guard or officers of the Central Government or the State Government authorised for 
any ship or aircraft clearly marked and identifiable as being on Government service; 

  (b) “Code” means the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974); 

  (c) “Convention” means the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982; 

  (d) “Designated Court” means a Court of Session specified as such under section 8; 

  (e) “high seas” includes the Exclusive Economic Zone and all waters beyond the jurisdiction of any 
other State. 

*Explanation.*—For  the  purposes  of  this  clause,  “Exclusive  Economic  Zone”  means  the  Exclusive 
Economic Zone of any other State including the Exclusive Economic Zone of India; 

  (f) “notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette; 

  (g) “other State” means any country other than India; 

  (h) “piracy” means— 

     (i) any illegal act of violence or detention or any act of depredation committed for private ends 
by  any  person  or  by  the  crew  or  any  passenger  of  a  private  ship  and  directed  on  the  high  seas 
against another ship or any person or property on board such ship; 

     (ii) any act of voluntary participation in the operation of a ship with knowledge of facts, making 
it a pirate ship; 

     (iii) any act of inciting or of intentionally facilitating an act described in sub-clause (i) or 
sub-clause (ii); or 

[^1]. 22nd day of February, 2023, vide notification No. S.O. 802(E), dated 22nd February, 2023, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, 
Part II, sec. 3(ii). 



     (iv)  any  act  which  is  deemed  piratical  under  the  international  law  including  customary 
international law; 

  (i) “pirate ship” means a ship which— 

     (i) is intended by the person in dominant control to be used for the purposes of committing any 
of the acts referred to in sub-clauses (i) to (iv) of clause (h); or 

     (ii) has been used to commit any such act, referred to in sub-clause (i) of this clause, so long as 
it remains under the control of the person guilty of that act; 

  (j) “ship” means— 

     (i) vessel or water craft of every description, including non-displacement craft; 

     (ii) sea planes and other aircraft, 

used or capable of being used as means of transportation on water or engaged in any operations at sea. 

*Explanation.*—For the purposes of this clause, “aircraft” shall have the same meaning as assigned 
to it in clause (1) of section 2 of the Aircraft Act, 1934 (22 of 1934); 

  (k) “stateless person” means a person who is not considered as a national by any country by virtue 
of its laws. 

(2) The  words  and  expressions  used  in  this  Act  and  not  defined  but  defined  in  the  Convention,  the 
Indian  Penal  Code  (45  of  1860),  the  Code  or  the  Territorial  Waters,  Continental  Shelf,  Exclusive 
Economic Zone and Other Maritime Zones Act, 1976 (80 of 1976), shall have the meanings respectively 
assigned to them in such Convention, the Codes or the Act. 

3. **Punishment for piracy.**—Whoever commits any act of piracy, shall be punished— 

  (i) with imprisonment which may extend to imprisonment for life or with fine or with both; or 

  (ii) with death or with imprisonment for life, if such person in committing the act of piracy causes 
death or an attempt thereof, 

and in addition shall also be subject to restitution or forfeiture of property involved in the commission of 
such offence. 

4. **Punishment for attempt to commit piracy, etc.**—Whoever  attempts  to  commit  the  offence  of 
piracy  or  aids or  abets  or  conspires  or   procures  for the  commission  of  such  offence  shall be punished 
with imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years or with fine or with both. 

5. **Punishment for organising  or directing others to  participate in an act of piracy.**—Whoever 
participates or organises or directs other person to participate in an act of piracy shall be punished with 
imprisonment for a term which may extend to fourteen years or with fine or with both. 

6. **Conferment of power of arrest, investigation, etc.**—Notwithstanding anything contained in the 
Code, the Central Government  may, for the purposes of this Act, by notification, confer the powers of 
arrest, investigation and  prosecution of any person exercisable by a police officer under the Code on any 
of its officer or such officer of a State Government. 

7. **Arrest of persons and seizure of ship and property.**—(1) The authorised personnel may, either 
generally or on suspicion that a ship is engaged in piracy on the high seas, board such ship and arrest the 
persons or seize the pirate ship and property on board. 

(2) The  ship  or  property  seized  under  sub-section  (1)  shall  be  disposed  of  only  by  the  order  of  the 
court. 

8. **Designated Court.**—For  the  purposes  of  providing  speedy  trial  of  offences  under  this  Act,  the 
Central Government shall, after consulting the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court, by notification, 
specify— 

  (i) one or more Courts of Sessions in a State, to be the Designated Court for the purposes of this 
Act; and 

  (ii) the territorial jurisdiction of each such court: 

  Provided that such territorial jurisdiction shall be determined on the basis of the port or place of 
disembarkation within India of the person suspected or accused of an offence under this Act. 

9. **Jurisdiction of Designated Court.**—The Designated Court shall have jurisdiction to try an offence 
punishable under this Act where such offence is committed— 

  (i) by  a  person  who  is  apprehended  by,  or  is  in  the  custody  of,  the  authorized  personnel  or  the 
police, regardless of the nationality or citizenship of such person; 

  (ii) by  a  person  who  is  a  citizen  of  India  or  a  resident  foreign  national  in  India  or  any  stateless 
person: 

  Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to a warship or its auxiliary ship or a Government 
owned ship employed for non-commercial service and is under the control of Government authorities 
at the time of commission of the offence of piracy. 

10. **Trial of offences by Designated Court.**—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code,— 

  (a) all offences under this Act shall be tried by the Designated Court notified as such under 
clause (i) of section 8; 

  (b) where  a  person  accused  of,  or  suspected  of,  the  commission  of  an  offence  under  this  Act  is 
forwarded to a Magistrate under sub-section (2) or sub-section (2A) of section 167 of the Code, such 
Magistrate may authorise the detention of such person in such custody, as he thinks fit, for a period 
not  exceeding  fifteen  days  in  the  whole,  where  such  Magistrate  is  a  Judicial  Magistrate,  and  seven 
days in the whole where such Magistrate is an Executive Magistrate: 

  Provided that where such Magistrate considers— 

     (i) at the time when such person is forwarded to him under this sub-section; or 

     (ii) at any time before the expiry of the period of detention authorised by him, 

that the detention of such person is not necessary, he shall order such person to be forwarded to the 
Designated Court having jurisdiction. 

(2) The Designated Court may exercise, in relation to the person forwarded to him under clause (b) of 
sub-section (1), the same power which a Magistrate having jurisdiction to try a case may exercise under 
section 167 of the Code, in relation to an accused person in such case who has been forwarded to him 
under that section. 

(3) A  Designated  Court  may,  upon  a  perusal  of  a  complaint  made  by  an  officer  of  the  Central 
Government or the State Government, as the case may be, authorised in this behalf, take cognizance of 
that offence without the accused being committed to it for trial. 

(4) While  trying  an  offence  under  this  Act,  a  Designated  Court  may  also  try  an  offence  under  any 
other law, other than an offence under this Act, with which the accused may be charged at the same trial 
under the Code. 

(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code, a Designated Court shall, as far as practicable, 
hold the trial on a day-to-day basis. 

11. **Presumption.**—Where a person is accused of having committed an offence punishable under this 
Act and, if,— 

  (a) the arms, ammunitions, explosives and other equipments are recovered from the possession of 
the accused, and there are reasonable grounds to believe that such arms, ammunitions, explosives or 
other equipments of similar nature were used or intended to be used in the commission of the offence; 

  (b) there is evidence of use of force, threat of force or any other form of intimidation caused to the 
crew or passengers of the ship in connection with the commission of the offence; or 

  (c) there  is  evidence  of  an  intended  threat  of  using  bombs,  arms,  firearms,  explosives  or 
committing any form of violence against the crew, passengers or cargo of a ship, 

then, the Designated Court shall presume, unless the contrary is proved, that the accused person had 
committed such offence. 

12. **Provisions as to bail.** — (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code, no person accused 
of  an  offence  punishable  under  this  Act  shall,  if  in  custody,  be  released  on  bail  or  on  his  own  bond 
unless— 

  (a) the  Public  Prosecutor  has  been  given  a  reasonable  opportunity  to  oppose  the  application  for 
such release; and 

  (b) where  the  Public  Prosecutor  opposes  the  application,  the  Court  is  satisfied  that  there  are 
reasonable  grounds  for  believing  that  he  is  not  guilty  of  such  offence  and  that  he  is  not  likely  to 
commit any offence while on bail. 

(2) Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to affect the special powers of the High Court 
regarding grant of bail under section 439 of the Code. 

13. **Application of Code in proceedings before Designated Court.**—Save as otherwise provided 
in this Act, the provisions of the Code shall apply to the proceedings before a Designated Court and the 
person  conducting  a  prosecution  before  a  Designated  Court  shall  be  deemed  to  be  a  Public  Prosecutor 
appointed under the said Code. 

14. **Provision as to extradition.**—(1) The  offences  under  this  Act  shall  be  deemed  to  have  been 
included as  extraditable offences and provided for in all extradition treaties made by India with any other 
State and which extend to and are binding on India on the date of commencement of this Act. 

(2) In  the  absence  of  a  bilateral  extradition  treaty,  the  offences  under  this  Act  shall  be  extraditable 
offences between India and other State on the basis of reciprocity. 

(3) For the purposes of application of the provisions of the Extradition Act, 1962 (34 of 1962) to the 
offences under this Act, any ship registered in other State shall, at any time while that ship is operating, 
be  deemed  to  be  within  the  jurisdiction  of  that  other  State  whether  or  not  it  is  for  the  time  being  also 
within the jurisdiction of any other State. 

15. **Protection of action taken in good faith.**—(1) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings 
shall lie against an authorised personnel for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done 
in pursuance of the provisions of this Act. 

(2) No  suit  or  other  legal  proceeding  shall  lie  against  the  Central  Government  or  any  State 
Government for any damage caused or likely to be caused for anything which is in good faith done or 
intended to be done in pursuance of the provisions of this Act.