The Defence of India Act, 1939 (No.35) was an Act passed by the Central Legislature on the 29th day of September, 1939 which effectively declared

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

in India. Although it was enacted on 29 September 1939 it was deemed to come into force from 3 September 1939, the day when the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

began. It provided the Viceroy to make rules for the safety of British India and to provide punishments in case of any contraventions which included that of

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

or transportation for life if the intent was to assist any

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

with His Majesty or that of waging war against His Majesty. It provided for Special Courts against whose verdict nobody can appeal from, and these Courts may decide to hold the trial

in camera ''In camera'' (; Latin: "in a chamber"). is a legal term that means ''in private''. The same meaning is sometimes expressed in the English equivalent: ''in chambers''. Generally, ''in-camera'' describes court cases, parts of it, or process wh ...

. It also provided for the acquisition of land for purposes of defence and it provided compensation for the land acquired. It expired six months after the termination of the

and was ultimately repealed by the Repealing and Amending Act, 1947 (Act II of 1948).

References

{{reflist *https://web.archive.org/web/20131029204142/http://lawmin.nic.in/legislative/textofcentralacts/1939.pdf *http://lawmin.nic.in/legislative/textofcentralacts/1948.pdf 1939 in India 1939 in law Law of India

See also

References