Societies Act · 2010 Revised Edition · Part VII · Enforcement
33. Power of Registrar or Assistant Registrar to summon witnesses and to investigate
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
The Registrar or an Assistant Registrar may summon before him any person whom he has reason to believe is able to give any information as to the existence of operations of any unlawful society or of any club, company, partnership or association suspected of being an unlawful society or as to the operations of a registered society.
Registrar
“Registrar” means the Registrar of Societies appointed under section 3(1) and includes any Deputy Registrar;
Such person shall attend at the time and place specified in the summons and produce all articles in his custody, possession or power relating to such society, club, company, partnership or association and answer truthfully all questions which the Registrar or an Assistant Registrar may put to him.
society
“society” includes any club, company, partnership or association of 10 or more persons whatever its nature or object, whether temporary or permanent, but does not include — (a) any company incorporated or registered under the Companies Act; (b) any body corporate incorporated or constituted under any written law; (c) any trade union registered or required to be registered under the Trade Unions Act; (d) any company, association or partnership formed for the sole purpose of carrying on any business that has for its object the acquisition of gain by the company, association, partnership or by the individual members thereof; (e) any co-operative society registered under the Co-operative Societies Act; (f) any organisation or association that forms part of the curriculum of a school; (g) any school, management committee of a school, parents’ association or parent-teachers’ association registered or exempted from registration under any written law; (h) any organisation or association formed by any Government department or ministry whose members wholly consist of public servants. Appointment of Registrar, Deputy Registrars and Assistant Registrars.
Any person who fails to attend on such a summons or who fails to answer truthfully is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000, imprisonment to a term not exceeding one year or both.
The Registrar and every Assistant Registrar may administer an oath to, and examine on oath, any person summoned before him under the provisions of this Act.
Assistant Registrar
“Assistant Registrar” means a person appointed as such under section 3(2);
If any person summoned by the Registrar or an Assistant
Registrar under this section without lawful excuse fails to comply with any obligation imposed upon him by subsections (1), (2) or (3) or gives information which the Registrar or Assistant Registrar, as the case may be, believes to be false, the Registrar or Assistant Registrar may, if he considers it advisable to provide for the future identification of such person, order that a photograph and impressions of fingerprints of that person be taken at such time and in such place and manner as he may think fit and, if that person without lawful excuse fails to comply with or obstructs the execution of any such order, he is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.
No statement made by any person summoned before the
Registrar or an Assistant Registrar under this section shall subject him to any arrest or criminal prosecution, or be proved against him in any criminal proceedings, except a prosecution for failing to answer truthfully under this section.
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For the purposes of this section, the Registrar and the Assistant
Registrar shall have the same power of investigation of a police officer under
Chapter XIII of the Criminal Procedure Code (Chapter 7).
Terms defined in s 2
Assistant Registrar
Defined · s 2“Assistant Registrar” means a person appointed as such under section 3(2);
registered society
Defined · s 2“registered society” means a society registered under section 8(3);
Registrar
Defined · s 2“Registrar” means the Registrar of Societies appointed under section 3(1) and includes any Deputy Registrar;
society
Defined · s 2“society” includes any club, company, partnership or association of 10 or more persons whatever its nature or object, whether temporary or permanent, but does not include — (a) any company incorporated or registered under the Companies Act; (b) any body corporate incorporated or constituted under any written law; (c) any trade union registered or required to be registered under the Trade Unions Act; (d) any company, association or partnership formed for the sole purpose of carrying on any business that has for its object the acquisition of gain by the company, association, partnership or by the individual members thereof; (e) any co-operative society registered under the Co-operative Societies Act; (f) any organisation or association that forms part of the curriculum of a school; (g) any school, management committee of a school, parents’ association or parent-teachers’ association registered or exempted from registration under any written law; (h) any organisation or association formed by any Government department or ministry whose members wholly consist of public servants. Appointment of Registrar, Deputy Registrars and Assistant Registrars.