The Inflammable Substances Act, 1952

[6th March, 1952.]

An Act to declare certain substances to be dangerously inflammable and to provide for the regulation of their import, transport, storage and production by applying thereto the Petroleum Act, 1934, and the rules thereunder, and for certain matters connected with such regulation.

BE it enacted by Parliament as follows:--

This Act may be called the Inflammable Substances Act, 1952.

In this Act,--

(a) "dangerously inflammable substance" means any liquid or other substance declared to be dangerously inflammable by this Act;

(b) "Petroleum Act" means the Petroleum Act, 1934 (30 of 1934).

The liquids and other substances hereinafter mentioned, namely:--

(1) acetone,

(2) calcium phosphide,

(3) carbide of calcium,

(4) cinematograph films having a nitro-cellulose base,

(5) ethyl alcohol,

(6) methyl alcohol,

(7) wood naphtha,

are hereby declared to be dangerously inflammable.

(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, apply any or all of the provisions of the Petroleum Act and of the rules made thereunder, with such modifications as it may specify, to any dangerously inflammable substance, and thereupon the provisions so applied shall have effect as if such substance had been included in the definition of "petroleum" under that Act.

(2) The Central Government may make rules providing specially for the testing of any dangerously inflammable substance to which any of the provisions of the Petroleum Act have been applied by notification under sub-section (1), and such rules may supplement any of the provisions of Chapter II of that Act in order to adapt them to the special needs of such tests.

Notifications or rules issued or purporting to have been issued under section 30 of the Petroleum Act between the 1st day of April, 1937, and the date of commencement of this Act shall be deemed to have been issued or made under this Act, and continue in force accordingly.

All acts of executive authority, proceedings and sentences which have been done, taken or passed with respect to, or on account of, any inflammable substance since the 1st day of April, 1937, and before the commencement of this Act by any officer of Government or by any person acting under his authority or otherwise in pursuance of an order of the Government in the belief or purported belief that the acts, proceedings or sentences were being done, taken or passed under the Petroleum Act shall be as valid and operative as if they had been done, taken or passed in accordance with law; and no suit or other legal proceeding shall be maintained or continued against any person whatever on the ground that any such acts, proceedings or sentences were not done, taken or passed in accordance with law.