DELHI: A NEW Ordinance No. 1 of 1943 has been promulgated on Saturday [Jan 9] by the Governor-General to provide for the trial and punishment of enemy agents and persons committing certain offences with intent to aid the enemy.

A ‘Gazette Extraordinary’ says that the Ordinance is promulgated ‘inter alia’ in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 72 of the India Act (Ninth Schedule to the India Act, 1935). It extends to the whole of British India and applies also to British subjects and servants of the Crown in any part of India and to persons on board any ship or aircraft registered in British India.

It comes into force at once and “enemy” means any State at war with His Majesty and “enemy agent” means a person, not operating as a member of an enemy armed force, who is employed by, or works for, or acts on instructions received from the enemy.

Whoever is an “enemy agent” with intent to aid the enemy does or conspires with any other person to do any act prejudicial to the purport of the definition shall be punishable (Section 3 of the Ordinance) with death. — Dawn Delhi

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2018