26Penalty for damage caused to land or crops or public roads by pigs

Any owner or keeper of pigs who, through neglect or otherwise, damages or causes or permits to be damaged any land, or any crop or produce of land, or any public road, by allowing such pigs to trespass thereon, shall, on conviction before a Magistrate, be punished with fine not exceeding ten rupees.

¹[The State Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, may from time to time with respect to any local area specified in the notification, direct that the foregoing portion of this section shall be read as if it had reference to cattle generally, or to cattle of a kind described in the notification, instead of to pigs only, or as if the words "fifty rupees" were substituted for the words ten rupees, or as if there were both such reference and such substitution.]

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STATE AMENDMENTS

Assam

Substitution of Section 26.--In the principal Act, for section 26, the following section shall be substituted, namely: --

"26. Penalty for damage caused to land or crops or public roads or for injury caused to any person by cattle or for cattle on public roads.--

(1) Any owner or keeper or attendant of cattle who through neglect or criminal motive or otherwise damages or causes or permits to be damaged any land or any crop or produce of land or any public road or anything or causes injury to any person or persons by allowing such cattle to trespass thereon, or lets loose any cattle to stray on any public road and thereby causes obstruction to traffic shall, on conviction before a judicial magistrate, be punishable with fine which shall not be less than five hundred rupees but which may extend to one thousand rupees and in default of payment of fine, simple imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month for the first offence and for the subsequent offences, fine not less than one thousand rupees but which may extend to two thousand rupees or to simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months.

(2) While convicting such person under sub-section (1), the magistrate may order him to pay the person whose land, or crop or produce of land or anything has been damaged or the person who is injured, such compensation depending upon the value of the loss or expenses so incurred for the medical treatment, as may be considered reasonable and in default of payment, the cattle in respect of which the offence has been committed shall be forfeited and sold on auction in order to compensate the person so aggrieved."

[Vide Assam Act 15 of 2002, s. 2.]

Insertion of section 26A.-- In the principal Act, after section 26, the following new section 26A shall be inserted namely:--

"26A. Cognizance of offence.--No Court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under section 26 except on a report in writing of the facts constituting such offence made by the person aggrieved by such offence or by person who is a public servant as defined in section 21 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860)."

[Vide Assam Act 15 of 2002, s. 3.]

Uttar Pradesh

Amendment of section 26 of Act (1 of 1971).--For section 26 of the Cattle Trespass Act, 1871, (hereafter called the principal Act), the following shall be substituted--

"26. Penalty for damage caused to land by cattle.--Any owner, keeper or attendant of cattle, who though neglect or otherwise, damages or causes or permits to be damaged any land, or any crop or produce of land by allowing such cattle to trespass thereon, shall on conviction before a Magistrate, be liable to a fine not less than Rs. 10 but not exceeding Rs. 250 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both."

[Vide Uttar Pradesh Act 7 of 1954, s. 2]