Maharashtra Police Act 1951
Section 37 :
Power to prohibit certain acts for prevention of disorder :
(1) The Commissioner and the District Magistrate in areas under their respective charges may, whenever and for such time as he shall consider necessary for the preservation of public peace or public safety by a notification publicly promulgated or addressed to individuals, prohibit at any town, village or place or in the vicinity of any such town, village or place-
(a) the carrying of arms, cudgels, swords, spears, bludgeons, guns, knives, sticks or lathis, or any other article, which is capable of being used for causing physical violence,
(b) the carrying of any corrosive substance or explosives;
(c) the carrying, collection and preparation of stones or other missiles or instruments or means of casting or impelling missiles;
(d) the exhibition of persons or corpses or figures or effigies thereof;
(e) the public utterance of cries, singing of songs, playing of music;
(f) delivery of harangues, the use of gestures or mimetic representation, and the preparation, exhibition or dissemination of pictures, symbols, placards or any other object or thing which may in the opinion of such authority offend against decency or morality or undermine the security of or tend to overthrow the State.
(2) If any person goes armed with any such article or carries any corrosive substance or explosive or missile in contravention of such prohibition, he shall be liable to be disarmed or the corrosive substance or explosive or missile shall be liable to be seized from him by any Police Officer, and the article, corrosive substance, explosive or missile so seized shall be forfeited to the State Government.
(3) The authority empowered under sub-section (1) may also by order in writing prohibit any assembly or procession whenever and for so long as it considers such prohibition to be necessary for the preservation of the public order:
Provided that no such prohibition shall remain in force for more than fifteen days without the sanction of the State Government.
(4) The authority empowered under sub-section (1) may also by public notice temporarily reserve for public purpose any street or public place and prohibit person from entering the area so reserved, except under such conditions as may be prescribed by such authority.
