Hyderabad City Coroner's Act, 1330 Fasli
Hyderabad Act No. 3 of 1330 F
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Received the assent of His Exalted Highness the Nizam on 24th Ramzan, 1330 Hijri
Preamble. - Whereas it is expedient to enact a law for the City of Hyderabad relating to Coroner;
It is hereby enacted as follows :-
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - This Act may be called "The Hyderabad City Coroner's Act" and shall come into force in the City of Hyderabad from the [date of its publication] in the [Official Gazette].
2. Appointment of Coroner. - The Government may, for the purpose of an inquest into the cause of any death in the City of Hyderabad, appoint an officer to be called the Coroner.
3. Coroner to have powers of Magistrate. - In an inquest into the cause of an accidental death, the Coroner shall have the powers of a Magistrate of the First Class.
4. Coroner shall inquire into cause of death. - When the Coroner has sufficient reason to believe that any death in the City of Hyderabad, has occurred by accident, homicide, suicide or by any unknown sudden means or that any prisoner or detenue has died in jail or that the corpse is actually lying in any place within the limits of the City of Hyderabad, he shall proceed to such place and make an inquest into the cause of death.
5. Inquests in case death occurs in jail. - (1) When a prisoner or detenue dies in jail, the Superintendent of the Jail shall send for the Coroner.
(2) If the Superintendent of Jail fails to send for the Coroner, he shall, on conviction before a Magistrate, be liable to fine which may extend to five hundred rupees.
(3) The Coroner may in inquiry into the cause of death, send for any officer of the jail.
(4) Nothing contained in this section shall apply to a case in which the death has occurred by cholera or by any epidemic disease.
6. Coroner and Panchs to make inquiry. - When the Coroner receives information of any death referred to in section 4, he shall without undue delay, summon 3 or 5 or 7 Panchs of the vicinity for the purpose of inquiring as to when and how the death of the person occurred and what were the causes therefor.
7. Verdict of Coroner and Panchs to be recorded. - The Coroner shall, along with the Panchs, examine the corpse and draw their attention to the necessary matters pertaining thereto. He shall draw up a memorandum of the local circumstances and proceedings and every Panch shall record his verdict on the cause of death and deliver it to the Coroner. The verdict of an illiterate person shall be recorded by the Coroner himself, who shall obtain his signature or thumb impression thereon.
8. Permission for funeral. - The Coroner shall after examining the corpse and taking down full particulars there, grant permission for its funeral.
9. Procedure when on inquest it is found that no offence is committed. - When after an inquest, the Coroner and the Panchs are, either unanimously or by a majority, of the opinion that the death of the deceased is caused by some sudden accident or disease and that no offence has been committed, further action shall not be taken and the Coroner shall draw up and sign the inquisition specifying his designation and obtain the Panch's signatures thereon.
10. Matters to be specified in inquisition. - The following matters shall be specified in the inquisition :-
(1) the place and time at which the inquiry is held;
(2) who the deceased was; his age, nationality and occupation; but if the deceased's name cannot be ascertained his appearance and features shall be specified;
(3) the names and addresses of the Panchs;
(4) the cause of death as determined;
(5) the deceased's heirs or friends who may be present at the spot or in its vicinity with their names and addresses.
11. Procedure when on inquest it is found that an offence has been committed. - When after an inquest, the Coroner and the Panchs are, either unanimously or by a majority, of the opinion that the death of the deceased was caused by an act which is an offence under any law in force in H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions, the Coroner shall immediately forward a copy of the inquisition to the Commissioner of Police.
12. Power to make rules. - The Government may make rules for the purposes of this Act. Such rules may, among other matters, relate to the manner in which the Coroner shall hold an inquest into the cause of death.
