Introduction:
According to Investopedia, “requisitioned property” is property that is involuntarily seized by a governmental authority for any reason. Requisitioned property can be taken for a number of reasons relating to the furtherance of the public good. It can be of any type, including real estate, vehicles, machinery, office equipment, or even personal property.
This Act is enacted for the purpose of requisitioning moveable property.
According to Section 2 of this Act, “immoveable” property includes any “land and water vehicles,” and “Deputy Commissioner” means an Additional Deputy Commissioner or a person powered by a Deputy Commissioner.
Requisition of Immoveable Property:
According to Section 3 of this Act, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) can requisition any property for the purpose of government work or for a public purpose for a limited period of time. But for that, the DC has to give a written order.
The order of requisition has to be given to the owner of the property personally; if he declines or is not found in his residence, the order shall be given to a worker working under him or a major member of his family in his own home, his business, or work place.
According to Section 7 of this Act, if the owner declines to obey the requisition order, the DC may use the necessary powers to requisition the property.
Compensation:
Compensation shall be given to the owner of the property according to the compensation rules.
Repair and maintenance of the requisition property:
The DC shall be liable for maintenance and repair costs, and if any damage to the property happens other than from regular use, the owner shall be entitled to compensation for those damages according to the compensation rules. (Section 6)
Penalty, immunity, and lack of jurisdiction of the court :
If any person violates or tries to violate any order passed by this Act and its rules or resists implementing them, he shall be punished up to 3 months’ imprisonment, 3,000 tk, or both, according to Section 6 of this Act.
Section 8 says that if any person has done any work in good faith, no civil or criminal procedure can run against that.
A bar to filing suit in court is imposed by Section 9 for giving any order or taking any action according to the Act and Rules.
Conclusion:
In the Act, there are no provisions about how, when, or where to give the award of compensation notice. This also lacked provisions about how to return the requisitioned movable property to its owner. But a rule passed under Section 10 of this Act clarifies some of the issues.
