The Punjab Border Radio Services (Emergency Powers) Ordinance, 1947

In 1947, an Ordinance issued on January 29 empowered the Governor-General to assume certain special powers for improving control over the circulation of harmful or undesirable material in Chief Commissioner’s Provinces. The Ordinance authorizes the administration to prohibit or regulate the distribution of any matter that directly or indirectly promotes feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of His Majesty’s subjects. It also allows authorities to require such documents to be submitted for scrutiny prior to publication. Additional powers include regulating the entry of undesirable material originating from outside the territory, forfeiting to His Majesty any document containing prohibited content, and conducting searches of premises or persons suspected of possessing such items. The dissemination of prohibited material, or violation of any provision of the Ordinance or any order issued under it, constitutes a cognizable offense and is punishable by imprisonment, a fine, or both.