Societies Act · 2010 Revised Edition · Part VIII · Offences
53. Presumption of membership etc. of society
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
Where any articles of, or relating to, or purporting to relate to, any society are found in the possession, custody or under the control of any person, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that such person is a member of the society, and that society shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to be in existence at the time such articles are found.
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.
Where any articles of, or relating to, any society are found —
in the possession, custody or under the control of any person, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that such person assists in the management of such society;
in any place, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that such articles are in the possession of the occupier of the place.
When it appears to a court that there is reasonable cause to suspect that any place entered or searched under any lawful power conferred by this Act was immediately before or at the time of such entry being used by or for the purposes of an unlawful society, any person found in such place at any time during such search or found leaving therefrom immediately before, at or after the time of such entry shall, unless he gives a satisfactory account of the reasons for his presence in that place, be presumed to be a member of the unlawful society.
Societies 42
Terms defined in s 2
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.
Part IX