{
  "schema_version": "qanun-law-text/1",
  "id": "punjab-code-499142f71011a7c3",
  "title": "PUNJAB ESSENTIAL SERVICES (MAINTENANCE) ACT, 1958",
  "source_collection": "Punjab",
  "content_kind": "stored_law_text",
  "content_extent": null,
  "source_url": "https://punjabcode.punjab.gov.pk/en/show_article/UmcCMVRnUGU-",
  "version": null,
  "source_snapshot": "2026-08-06T16:55:02Z",
  "legal_status": "not independently verified",
  "text_quality": "Complete stored UTF-8 TXT file recovered byte-for-byte from owned Drive. Source transcription retained verbatim; legal completeness, OCR accuracy and current consolidation unverified.",
  "text_sha256": "816e9358eb31fd3562f560f5a826978b18d1812ef73c0e0acc977f10c3f53af1",
  "source_sha256": "816e9358eb31fd3562f560f5a826978b18d1812ef73c0e0acc977f10c3f53af1",
  "text_version_id": "law:punjab-code-499142f71011a7c3:sha256:816e9358eb31fd3562f560f5a826978b18d1812ef73c0e0acc977f10c3f53af1",
  "quality_flags": [],
  "encoding": "UTF-8",
  "text": "THE PUNJAB ESSENTIAL SERVICES (MAINTENANCE) \r\nACT, 1958 \r\n(XXXIV of 1958) \r\nCONTENTS \r\n1. Short title, extent and commencement. \r\n2. Definitions. \r\n3. Employment to which this Act applies. \r\n4. Power to order persons engaged in certain employments to remain in \r\nspecified areas. \r\n5. Offences. \r\n6. Regulation of wages and conditions of service. \r\n7. Penalties and procedure. \r\n8. Bar of legal proceedings. \r\n9. Saving of effect of laws imposing liability to national service. \r\n10. Repeal. \r\n \r\n \r\nTEXT \r\n1\r\nTHE \r\n2\r\n[PUNJAB] ESSENTIAL SERVICES (MAINTENANCE) ACT, 1958 \r\n(XXXIV of 1958) \r\n[25 April 1958] \r\nAn \r\nAct \r\nto provide for the maintenance of certain essential services. \r\nPreamble.– WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the maintenance of certain \r\nessential services in \r\n3\r\n[the Punjab]; \r\n It is hereby enacted as follows:– \r\n1. Short title, extent and commenc ement.– (1) This Act may be called the \r\n4\r\n[Punjab] Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1958. \r\n \r\n5\r\n[(2) It extends to the whole of the Province of \r\n6\r\n[the Punjab], except the \r\nTribal Areas.] \r\n (3) It shall come into force at once. \r\n2. Definitions.– In this Act, unl ess there is anything repugnant in the subject or \r\ncontext– \r\n(i) “employment” means any service for which  remuneration is received; \r\n(ii) “essential service”  means a service to the employment of which this \r\nAct applies; \r\n(iii) “Government” means the \r\n7\r\n[Provincial Government of the Punjab]. \r\n3. Employment to which this Act applies .– This Act shall apply to all \r\nemployment under the Government or any agency set up by it or a  local authority or \r\nany service relating to transport or civil defence. \r\n                                                           \r\n1For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Gazette of West Pakistan, (Extraordinary), dated January  26, 1957 and for \r\nProceedings in Assembly, see West Pakistan Assembly Debates, Vol. III, pp.  1327-1336. This Act was passed by the West \r\nPakistan Assembly on March  30, 1958, assented to by the Governor of West Pakistan on April  25, 1958, published in the \r\nGazette of West Pakistan (Extraordinary), dated April 25, 1958, pp. 719-722.  \r\n2Substituted for the words “West Pakistan” by the Punjab Laws (Adaptation) Order, 1974 (1 of 19 74) (w.e.f. 14.8.1973), \r\npublished in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated November 20 , 1974, pp.  1425-A-1425-PP, Article 2(1) read with  \r\nSchedule, Part III, Serial No. 14.  \r\n3Ibid.  \r\n4Ibid.  \r\n5Substituted by the West Pakistan Laws (Extension to Karachi) Ordinance, 1964 (VII of 1964), published in the Gazette of West \r\nPakistan (Extraordinary), dated May 25, 1964, pp.1679-1688, s.2 read with Schedule, Serial No.10. \r\n6Substituted for the words “West Pakistan” by the Punjab Laws (Adaptation) Order, 1974 (1 of 19 74) (w.e.f. 14.8.1973), \r\npublished in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated November 20 , 1974, pp.  1425-A-1425-PP, Article 2(1) read with  \r\nSchedule, Part III, Serial No. 14.  \r\n7Substituted for the words “Government of West Pakistan” by the Order ibid.  \r\n4. Power to order per sons engaged in certain employments to remain in \r\nspecified areas.– (1) The Government or an officer authorised in this behalf by the \r\nGovernment may, \r\n1\r\n[if the public interest so requires,] by general or special order, \r\ndirect that any person or persons engag ed in any employment or class of \r\nemployment to which this Act applies shall not depart out of such area or areas and \r\nfor such period not exceeding three months as may be specified in such order. \r\n (2) An order made under sub -section (1) shall be published i n such \r\nmanner as the Government, or the officer making the order, considers best \r\ncalculated to bring it to the notice of the persons affected by the order. \r\n5. Offences.– Any person engaged in any employment or class of employment \r\nto which this Act applies who– \r\n(a) disobeys any lawful order given in the course of such employment, or \r\nattempts to persuade any person to disobey any such order, or \r\n(b) without reasonable excuse abandons such employment or absents \r\nhimself from work, or \r\n(c) departs from any area sp ecified in an order under sub -section (1) of \r\nsection 4 without the consent of the Government or the authority \r\nmaking that order, and any employer of a person engaged in an \r\nemployment or class of employment to which this Act applies, who \r\nwithout reasonable excuse– \r\n(1) discontinues the employment of such person, or \r\n(2) by closing an establishment in which such person is engaged, \r\ncauses the discontinuance of his employment, or \r\n(3) discontinues or causes the discontinuance of an essential \r\nservice, is guilty of an offence under this Act. \r\nExplanation I .– The fact that a person apprehends that by continuing in his \r\nemployment he will be exposed to increased physical danger is not reasonable \r\nexcuse within the meaning of clause (b). \r\nExplanation II.– A person abandons his employment within the meaning of clause \r\n(b) who, notwithstanding that it is an express or implied term of his contract of \r\nemployment that he may terminate his employment on giving notice to his employer \r\nof his intention to do so, so terminates his empl oyment without the previous consent \r\nof his employer. \r\n6. Regulation of wages and conditions of service .– (1) The Government may \r\nmake rules regulating or empowering specified  authorities to regulate the wages and \r\nother conditions of service of persons or of any class of persons engaged in any \r\nemployment or class of employment to which this Act applies. \r\n (2) When any such rules have been made, or when any directions \r\nregulating wages or conditions of service have been given by the authority  \r\n                                                           \r\n1Inserted by the West Pakistan Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 1965 (XXXIV of 1965), published i n the Gazette of West \r\nPakistan (Extraordinary), dated November 2, 1965, pp. 5607-5614, s. 3 read with Second Schedule, Serial No. 13.  \r\nempowered by such ru les to give them, any person failing to comply therewith is \r\nguilty of an offence under this Act. \r\n7. Penalties and procedure .– (1) Any person found guilty of an offence under \r\nthis Act, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one  \r\nyear and shall also be liable to a fine. \r\n (2) Where the person accused of an offence under this Act is a company \r\nor other body corporate, every director, manager, secretary or other officer thereof \r\nshall, unless he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that \r\nhe exercised due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence, be liable to the \r\npunishment provided for the offence. \r\n (3) No court shall take cognizance of an offence under this Act except \r\nupon complaint in writing made by  an officer empowered by the Government in this \r\nbehalf. \r\n8. Bar of legal proceedings .– No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding \r\nshall lie against any person for anything which is, in good faith, done or intended to \r\nbe done under this Act or the rules made thereunder. \r\n9. Saving of effect of laws imposing liability to national service .– Nothing \r\ncontained in this Act or in any declaration or order made thereunder, shall have \r\neffect in derogation of any provision of law which is or may be for the time bein g in \r\nforce, imposing upon a person engaged in an employment or class of employment to \r\nwhich this Act applies any liability to be called up for national service or to undertake \r\nemployment in the national service. \r\n10. Repeal.– The North-West Frontier Province Essential Services (Maintenance) \r\nAct, 1946\r\n1\r\n, and the West Pakistan Essential Services (Maintenance) Ordinance, \r\n1957\r\n2\r\n, are hereby repealed. \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n                                                           \r\n1XII of 1946.  \r\n2VII of 1957, promulgated by the Governor of West Pakistan under Article 102 of the Constitution, publishe d in the Gazette of \r\nWest Pakistan (Extraordinary), dated October 1, 1957, pp. 961-964.",
  "passage_offset_convention": "zero-based Unicode code points and UTF8 bytes; end exclusive",
  "passages": [
    {
      "passage_id": "law:punjab-code-499142f71011a7c3:sha256:816e9358eb31fd3562f560f5a826978b18d1812ef73c0e0acc977f10c3f53af1:chars-0-1732:41d5bcc684b01669d126f7b374d6b8fccee217bc7481ec6639dbdb5f5bd6b5b7",
      "character_start": 0,
      "character_end": 1732,
      "utf8_byte_start": 0,
      "utf8_byte_end": 1756,
      "passage_sha256": "41d5bcc684b01669d126f7b374d6b8fccee217bc7481ec6639dbdb5f5bd6b5b7",
      "reader_fragment": "p-0-1732-41d5bcc684b01669"
    },
    {
      "passage_id": "law:punjab-code-499142f71011a7c3:sha256:816e9358eb31fd3562f560f5a826978b18d1812ef73c0e0acc977f10c3f53af1:chars-1732-3476:cb858a10e70a26eb01d265b458a542b841b1a38b48d9eca0ccc426d783a676b6",
      "character_start": 1732,
      "character_end": 3476,
      "utf8_byte_start": 1756,
      "utf8_byte_end": 3514,
      "passage_sha256": "cb858a10e70a26eb01d265b458a542b841b1a38b48d9eca0ccc426d783a676b6",
      "reader_fragment": "p-1732-3476-cb858a10e70a26eb"
    },
    {
      "passage_id": "law:punjab-code-499142f71011a7c3:sha256:816e9358eb31fd3562f560f5a826978b18d1812ef73c0e0acc977f10c3f53af1:chars-3476-5266:6f40acda4dd5d4170bb2a1bf97ab0847fa874a2cfa893c33024964f82e91df63",
      "character_start": 3476,
      "character_end": 5266,
      "utf8_byte_start": 3514,
      "utf8_byte_end": 5314,
      "passage_sha256": "6f40acda4dd5d4170bb2a1bf97ab0847fa874a2cfa893c33024964f82e91df63",
      "reader_fragment": "p-3476-5266-6f40acda4dd5d417"
    },
    {
      "passage_id": "law:punjab-code-499142f71011a7c3:sha256:816e9358eb31fd3562f560f5a826978b18d1812ef73c0e0acc977f10c3f53af1:chars-5266-7056:479e05050ddd37052d92f6ae875aa865eebdec9739d64f6751d0076dc8ffdb79",
      "character_start": 5266,
      "character_end": 7056,
      "utf8_byte_start": 5314,
      "utf8_byte_end": 7110,
      "passage_sha256": "479e05050ddd37052d92f6ae875aa865eebdec9739d64f6751d0076dc8ffdb79",
      "reader_fragment": "p-5266-7056-479e05050ddd3705"
    },
    {
      "passage_id": "law:punjab-code-499142f71011a7c3:sha256:816e9358eb31fd3562f560f5a826978b18d1812ef73c0e0acc977f10c3f53af1:chars-7056-8081:0a7d5e3e71c6edc4bc0249c283bf9d5c1b5febea2aa22eb3cb4067d510a27913",
      "character_start": 7056,
      "character_end": 8081,
      "utf8_byte_start": 7110,
      "utf8_byte_end": 8139,
      "passage_sha256": "0a7d5e3e71c6edc4bc0249c283bf9d5c1b5febea2aa22eb3cb4067d510a27913",
      "reader_fragment": "p-7056-8081-0a7d5e3e71c6edc4"
    }
  ]
}