Page 1 of 10 THE OFFENCES AGAINST PROPERTY (ENFORCEMENT OF HUDOOD) ORDINANCE, 1979 CONTENTS 1. Short title, extent and commencement 2. Definitions 3. Ordinance to override other laws 4. Two kinds of theft 6. Nisab 7. Proof of theft liable to had 8. Commission of theft liable to hadd by more than one person 9. Punishment of theft liable to had 10. Cases in which Hadd shall not be imposed 11. Case in which Hadd shall not be enforced 12. Return of stolen property 13. Theft liable to tazir 14. Punishment for theft liable to tazir 15. Definition of haraabah 16. Proof of haraabah 17. Punishment for haraabah 18. Cases in which punishment of amputation or death for haraabah shall not be imposed or enforced Page 2 of 10 19. Return of property taken away during haraabah 20. Punishment for haraabah liable to tazir 21. Punishment for rassagiri or patharidari. 22. Punishment for attempts to commit offence punishable by this Ordinance 23. Application of certain provisions of Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860 24. Application of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 25. Presiding Officer of Court be a Muslim 26. Saving Page 3 of 10 THE OFFENCES AGAINST PROPERTY (ENFORCEMENT OF HUDOOD) ORDINANCE, 1979 1ORDINANCE NO. VI OF 1979 [10th February, 1979] An Ordinance to bring in conformity with the injunctions of Islam the law relating to certain offences against property. WHEREAS it is necessary to modify the existing law relating to certain offen ces against property, so as to bring it in conformity with the injunctions of Islam as set out in the Holy Quran and Sunnah; AND WHEREAS the President is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary to take immediate action; NOW, THEREFORE in pursuance of the Proclamation of the fifth day of July, 1977, read with the Laws (Continuance in Force) Order, 1977 (C.M.L.A. Order No. 1 of 1977) , and in exercise of all powers enabling him in that behalf, the President is pleased to make and promulg ate the following Ordinance:— PRELIMINARY 1. Short title, extent and commencement .—(1) This Ordinance may be called the Offences against Property (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979. (2) It extends to the whole of Pakistan. (3) It shall come into force on the twelfth day of Rabi-ul-Awwal, 1399 Hijri, that is, the tenth day of February, 1979. 2. Definition .—In this Ordinance, unless there is anything repug nant in the subject or context,— (a) “adult” means a person who has attained the age of eighteen years or puberty: (b) “authorised medical officer” means a medical officer, howsoever designated, authorised by Government; (c) “Hadd” means punishment ordained by the Holy Quran or Sunnah; (d) “Hirz” means an arrangement made for the custody of property; Explanation 1. Property placed in a house, whether its door is closed or not, or in an almirah or a box or other container or in the custody of a person, whether he is paid for such custody or not is said to be in hirz. 1 This Ordinance has been appl ied to the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas of Baluchistan, by Baluchistan Govt. Notification No. S.O. (TA) -3 (46)/79, dated 29-4-1979, see Baluchistan Gazette, 1979, Ext. (Issue No. 58, dated 14-6-1979). This Ordinance has been applied to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, by S.R.O. No. 362 (l)/79, dated 23 -4-1979, see Gaz. of P., 4979, Ext., Pt. II, p. 632. This Ordinance has also been applied to the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas of the N.W.F.P. by Notification No. 127-HD (T.A. HI)/79-H, dated the 26th May, 1979, see Gaz. of N.W.F.P. Ext. 1979, p. 1101. Page 4 of 10 Explanation 2. If a single family is living in a house, the entire house will constitute a single hirz, but if two or more families are living in one house severally, the portion in the occupation of each family will constitute separate hirz. (e) “Imprisonment for life” means imprisonment till death; (f) “ nisab “ means the ‘nisab’ as laid down in section 6; (g) “tazir” means any punishment other than hadd; and all other terms and expressions not defined in this Ordinance shall have the same meaning as in the Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860), or the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898). 3. Ordinance to override other laws . The provisions of this Ordinance shall have effect notwithstanding anything contained in any other for the time being in force. 4. Two kinds of theft. Theft may be either theft liable to hadd or theft liable to tazir. 5. Theft liable to hadd. Whoever, being an adult, surreptitiously commits, from any hirz, theft of property of the value of the nisab or more not being stolen property, knowing that it is or is likely to be of the value of the nisab or more is, subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, said to commit theft liable to hadd. Explanation 1 . In this section “stolen property” does not include property which has been criminally misappropriated or in respect of which criminal breach of trust has been committed. Explanation 2. In this section, “surreptitiously” means that the person committing the theft commits such theft believing that the victim of theft does not know of his action. For surreptitious removal of property it is necessary that, if it is day -time, which includes one hour before sunrise and two hours after sunset, surreption should continue till the completion of the offence and, if it is night, subreption need not continue after commencement of the offence. 6. Nisab— The nisab for theft liable to hadd is four decimal four five seven (4.457) grams of gold, or other property of equivalent value, at the time of theft. Explanation.— If theft is committed from the same hirz in more than one transaction, or from more than one hirz and the value of the stolen property in each case is less than the nisab, it is not theft liable to hadd even if the value of the property involved in all cases adds up to , or exceeds, the nisab. Illustrations (a) A enters a house occupied by a single family and removes from various rooms property the value of which adds up to, or exceed the nisab. Such theft is liable to hadd even though the value of the property removed from any of the rooms does not amount to the nisab. If the house is occupied by more than one family and the value of the property removed from the hirz of any one family is less than the nisab, then the theft is not liable to hadd even though the value of the properties removed adds up to, or exceeds, the nisab. (b) A enters a house several times and removes from the house on each occasion property the value of which does not amount to the nisab. Such theft is not Page 5 of 10 liable to hadd even though the value or the properties removed adds up to, or exceeds, the nisab. 7. Proof of theft liable to hadd. The proof of theft liable to hadd shall be in one of the following forms namely: (a) the accused pleads guilty of the commission of theft liable to hadd; and (b) at least two Muslim adult male witnesses, other than the victim of the theft, about whom the Court is satisfied, having regard to the requirements of tazkiyah-al-shuhood, that they are truthful persons and abstain from major sins (kabair), give evidence as eye-witnesses of the occurrence: Provided that, if the accused is a non-Muslim, the eye-witnesses may be non-Muslim: Provided further that the statement of the victim of theft or the person authorised b y him shall be recorded before the statements of the eye-witnesses are recorded. Explanation.—In this section, tazkiyah -al-shuhood means the mode of inquiry adopted by a Court to satisfy itself as to the credibility of a witness. 8. Commission of theft liable to hadd by more than one person. Where theft liable to hadd is committed by more than one person and the aggregate value of the stolen property is such that, if the property is divided equally amongst such of them as have entered the hirz each one of them gets a share which amounts to, or exceeds the nisab the hadd shall be imposed on all of them who have entered the Hirz, whether or not each one of them has moved the stolen property of any part thereof. 9. Punishment of theft liable to hadd.—(1) Whoever commits theft liable to hadd for the first time shall be punished with amputation of his right hand from the joint of the wrist. (2) Whoever commits theft liable to hadd for the second time shall be punished with amputation of his left foot up to the ankle. (3) Whoever commits theft liable to hadd for the third time, or any time subsequent thereto, shall be punished with imprisonment for life. (4) Punishment under sub -section (1) or sub -section (2) shall not be executed unless it is confirmed by the Cour t to which an appeal from the order of conviction lies, and until the punishment is confirmed and executed the convict shall be dealt with in the same manner as if sentenced to simple imprisonment. (5) In the case of a person sentenced to imprisonment for life under sub -section (3), if the 1[Appellate Court] is satisfied that he is sincerely penitent, he may be set at liberty on such terms and conditions as the Court may deem fit to impose. (6) Amputation shall be carried out by an authorised medical officer. (7) If, at the time of the execution of hadd the authorised medical officer is of the opinion that the amputation of hand or foot may cause the death of the convict, the execution of hadd shall be postponed until such time as the apprehension of death cases. 1 Subs, by the Offences Against Property (Enforcement of Hudood) (Amdt.) Ordinance, 1980 (19 of 1980), s. 2, for “High Court”. Page 6 of 10 10. Cases in which Hadd shall not be imposed. Hadd shall not be imposed in the following cases, namely: (a) when the offender and victim of the theft are related to each other as- (i) spouses; (ii) ascendants, paternal or maternal; (iii) descendants, paternal or maternal; (iv) brothers or sisters of father or mother; or (v) brothers or sisters or their children; (b) when a guest has committed theft from the house of his host; (c) when a servant or employee has committed theft from the hirz of his master or employer to which he is allowed access; (d) when the stolen property is wild grass, fish, bird, dog, pig, intoxica nt, musical instrument or perishable foodstuffs for the preservation of which provision does not exist; (e) when the offender has a share in the stolen property the value of which, after deduction of his share, is less than the nisab; (f) when a creditor steals his debtor’s property the value of which after deduction of the amount due to him, is less than the nisab; (g) when the offender has committed theft under ikrah or iztrar: Explanation.— In this clause,- (i) “Ikrah” means putting any person in fear of injury to the person, property or honour of that or any other person; and (ii) “iztrar” means a situation in which a person is in apprehension of death due to extreme hunger or thirst. (h) when the offender, before his apprehension, has, on account of repentance, returned the stolen property to the victim and surrender s himself to the authority concerned. 11. Case in which Hadd shall not be enforced. —(1) Hadd shall not be enforced in the following cases, namely:- (a) when theft is proved only by the con fession of the convict , but he retracts his confession before the execution of hadd; (b) when theft i s proved by testimony, but before the execution of hadd, any witness resiles from his testimony so as to reduce the number of eye -witnesses to less than two; Page 7 of 10 (c) when, before the execution of hadd the victim withdraws his allegation of theft or states that the convict had made a false confession or that any of the eye-witnesses have deposed falsely, and the number of eye -witnesses is thereby reduced to less than two; and (d) when the left hand or the left thumb or at least two fingers of the left hand or the right foot of the offender are either missing of entirely unserviceable. (2) In the case mentioned in clause (a) of sub-section (1) the Court may order retrial. (3) In a case mentioned in clause (b), or clause (c), or clause (d) of sub-section (1), the Court may award tazir on the basis of the evidence on record. 12. Return of stolen property. —(1) If the stolen property is found in the original or in an identifiable form, or in a form into or for which it may have been converted or exchanged, it shall be caused to be returned to the victim, whether it is in the possession of, or has been recovered from the offender or any other person. (2) If the stolen property is lost or consumed while in the offender’s possession and the hadd, is enforced against him, the offender shall not be required to pay compensation. 13. Theft liable to tazir. Whoever commits theft which is not liable to hadd or for which proof in e ither of the forms mentioned in section 7 is not available, or for which hadd may not be imposed or enforced under this Ordinance, shall be liable to tazir. 14. Punishment for theft liable to tazir. Whoever commits theft liable to tazir shall be awarded the punishment provided for the offence of theft in the Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860). 15. Definition of haraabah. When any one or more persons, whether equipped with arms or not, make show of force for the purpose of taking away the property of anot her and attack him or cause wrongful restraint or put him in fear of death or hurt , such person or persons, are said to commit haraabah. 16. Proof of haraabah. The provisions of section 7 shall apply mutatis mutandis for the proof of haraabah. 17. Punishment for haraabah.—(1) Whoever, being an adult, is guilty of haraabah in the course of which neither any murder has been committed nor any -property has been taken away shall be punished with whipping not exceeding thirty stripes and with rigorous imprisonmen t until the Court is satisfied of his being sincerely penitent: Provided that the sentence of imprisonment shall in no case be less than three years. (2) Whoever, being an adult, is guilty of haraabah in the course of which no property has been taken away but hurt has been caused to any person shall, in addition to the punishment provided for in sub -section (1), be punished for causing such hurt in accordance with such other law as may for the time being be applicable. (3) Whoever, being an adult, is guilt y of haraabah in the course of which no murder has been committed but property the value of which amounts to , or exceeds, the nisab has been taken Page 8 of 10 away shall be punished with amputation of his right hand from the wrist and of his left foot from the ankle: Provided that, when the offence of haraabah has been committed conjointly by more than one person, the punishment of amputation shall be imposed only if the value of share of each one of them is not less than the nisab; Provided further that, if the left hand or the right foot of the offender is missing or is entirely unserviceable, the punishment of amputation of the other hand or foot, as the case may, shall not be imposed, and the offender shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which ma y extend to fourteen years and with whipping not exceeding thirty stripes. (4) Whoever, being an adult, is guilty of haraabah in the course of which he commits murder shall tie punished with death imposed as hadd. (5) Punishment under sub-section (3), except that under the second proviso thereto, or under sub-section (4), shall not be executed unless it is confirmed by the Court to which an appeal from the order of conviction lies, and if the punishment be of amputation, until it is confirmed and executed , the convict shall be dealt within the same manner as if sentenced to simple imprisonment. (6) The provisions of sub -section (6) and sub -section (7) of section 9 shall apply to the execution of the punishment of amputation under this section. 18. Cases in which punishment of amputation or death for haraabah shall not be imposed or enforced. The punishment of amputation or death shall not be imposed or enforced for the offence of haraabah in cases in which hadd may not be imposed for theft liable to hadd and the provisions of section 10 and section 11 shall apply mutatis mutandis to such cases. 19. Return of property taken away during haraabah. The provisions of section 12 shall apply, mutatis mutandis for return of the property taken away during haraabah so however, that sub- section (2) of the said section shall have effect as if, for the word “ Hadd” therein, the words “punishment of amputation or death” were substituted. 20. Punishment for haraabah liable to tazir. Whoever commits haraabah which is not liable to the punishment provided for in section 17, or for which proof in either of the forms mentioned in section 7 is not available, or for which punishment of amputation or death may not be imposed or enforced under this Ordinance, shall be awarded, th e punishment provided in the Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860) for the offence of dacoity, robbery or extortion, as the case may be. 21. Punishment for rassagiri or patharidari.—(1) Whoever extends patronage, protection or assistance in any form to, or harbours, any person or group of persons engaged in the theft of cattle, on the understanding that he shall receive one or more of the cattle in respect of which the offence is committed, or a share in the proceeds thereof , is said to commit “r assagiri” o r “patharidari”. (2) Whoever commits “ rassagiri” or “ patharidari” shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to fourteen years, or with whipping not exceeding seventy stripes, and with confiscation of all his immovable property and with fine. 22. Punishment for attempts to commit offence punishable by this Ordinance. Whoever attempts to commit an offence punishable under this Ordinance, or to cause such an offence to be Page 9 of 10 committed, and in such attempt does any act towards the commission of the offence, shall , where no express provision is made by this Ordinance for the punishment of such attempt, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years. Illustrations (a) A makes an attempt to steal some jewels by breaking open a box, and finds after so opening the box that there is no jewel in it. He has done an act towards the commission of theft, and therefore, is guilty under this section. (b) A makes an attempt to pick the pocket of Z by thrusting his hand into Z’s pocket. A fails in the attempt in consequence of Z’s having nothing in his pocket A is guilty under this section. 23. Application of certain provisions of Pakistan Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860). (1) Unless otherwise expressly provided in this Ordinance, the provisions of sections 34 to 38 of Chapter II, section 71 and section 72 of Chapter III and section 14 9 of Chapter VIII of the Pakistan Penal Code, (Act XLV of 1860), shall apply, mutatis mutandis in respect of offences under this Ordinance. (2) Whoever is guilty of the abetment of and offence liable to hadd under this Ordinance shall be liable to the punishment provided for such offence as tazir. 24. Application of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898. —(1) The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), shall apply, mutatis mutandis, in respect of cases under this Ordinance: Provided that, if it appears in evidence that the offender has committed a different offence under any other law, he may, if the Court is competent to try that offence and to award punishment therefore, be convicted and punished for that offence [:]1 2[Provided further that an offence punishable under section 9 or section 17 shall be triable by a Court of Session and not by a Magi strate authorised under section 30 of the said Code and an appeal from an order under either of the said sections, 3[or from an order under any provision of this Ordinance which impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term exceeding two years,] shall lie t o the Federal Shariat Court; Provided further that a trial by a Court of Session under this Ordinance shall ordinarily be held at the headquarters of the Tehsil in which the offence is alleged to have been committed.] (2) The provisions of the Code of Cr iminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), relating to the confirmation of the sentence of death, shall apply, matatis mutandis , to confirmation of sentences under this Ordinance. (3) The provisions of sub -section (3) of section 391 or section 393 of the Cod e of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), shall not apply in respect of the punishment of whipping awarded under this Ordinance. 1Subs, by the Offences Against Property (Enforcement of Hudood) (Amdt.) Ordinance. 1980 (19 of 1980) s. 3, for full stop. 2Added ibid., 3Ins. by the Offences Against Property (Enforcement of Hudood) (Amdt.) Ordinance, 1982 (2 of 1982), s. 2. Page 10 of 10 (4) The provisions of Chapter XXIX of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), shall not apply in respect of punishments awarded under section 9 or section 17 of this Ordinance. 25. Presiding Officer of Court be a Muslim. The Presiding Officer of the Court by which a case is tried, or an appeal is heard, under this Ordinance shall be a Muslim: Provided that, if the accused is a non-Muslim, the Presiding Officer may be a non-Muslim. 26. Saving. Nothing in this Ordinance shall be deemed to apply to cases pending before any Court immediately before the commencement of this Ordinance, or to offences committed before such commencement.