Emigration Ordinance, 1979 — section 23

23. Penalty for other offences..—Whoever contravenes, or fails to comply with, any of the provisions of this Ordinance or the rules shall, if no other penalty is provided by this Ordinance for such contravention or failure, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year and with fine. 24. Special Courts.―(1) The Federal Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, set up as many Special Courts as it considers necessary and, where it sets up more than one Special Court, shall specify in the notification the headquarters of each Special Court and the territorial limits within which it shall exercise jurisdiction under this Ordinance.

(2)A Special Court shall consist of a person who is or has been a Sessions Judge or an Additional Sessions Judge.

(3)Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), an offence punishable under this Ordinance shall be tried exclusively by a Special Court.

(4)The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), so far as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, shall apply to the proceedings of a Special Court and such Court shall be deemed to be a Court of Session for the purposes of the said Code and the provisions of Chapter XXIIA of the Code, so far as applicable and with the necessary modifications, shall apply to the trial of cases by a Special Court under this Ordinance, and a person conducting prosecution before a Special Court shall be deemed to be a Public Prosecutor.

(5)For the purposes of sub-section (4), the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), shall have effect as if an offence punishable under this Ordinance were one of the offences referred to in sub-section (1) of section 337 of the Code. 2 [(6) A Special Court shall take cognizance of, and have jurisdiction to try, an offence punishable under this Ordinance only upon a complaint in writing which is accompanied by the previous sanction of the Federal Government: 1 Subs. by Act No. VIII of 2025, s.4. 2 Subs. by Act No. VI of 1985, s.4. Provided that, in a case in which the complaint is not accompanied by such sanction, the Special Court shall, immediately on its receipt, refer the matter to the Federal Government; and, if the required sanction is neither received nor refused within sixty days of the receipt of the reference by the Federal Government, such sanction shall be deemed to have been duly accorded.] [24A.—Appeal.―(1) A person sentenced by a Special Court may, within forty-five days 1 of the order, prefer an appeal to the High Court.

(2)Where a Special Court has passed an order of acquittal.―

(a)The Federal Government may direct any of its Law Officers to present an appeal; and

(b)in the case of a prosecution for any offence punishable under this Ordinance, the person in respect of whom the offence is alleged to have been committed may, within a period of forty-five days, appeal, to the High Court against the order.]