THE PUNJAB HOLY QURAN
(PRINTING AND RECORDING) ACT 2011
(Act XIII of 2011)
C O N T E N T S
Section Heading
1. Short title, extent and
commencement.
2. Definitions.
3. Registration of publishers and recording companies.
4. Quran Board.
5. Publishing
of the Holy Quran.
6. Literal distortion of the text of ayah.
7. Translation
or interpretation of the Holy Quran contrary to belief of Muslims.
8. Disposal
of damaged or shaheed copies.
9. Penalty.
10. Offences
by corporations.
11. Power to
make rules.
12. Repeal.
Schedule
(PRINTING AND RECORDING) ACT 2011
(Act XIII of 2011)
[2 May 2011]
An
Act to ensure publication of the text of the Holy Quran
free
from errors of printing and recording and proper
disposal
of damaged or shaheed copies of the Holy Quran.
Preamble.– Whereas it is expedient to provide for publication of the
text of the Holy Quran free from errors of printing and recording, for proper
disposal of damaged or shaheed copies of the Holy Quran, and for ancillary
matters;
It is
enacted as follows:-
1. Short
title, extent and commencement.– (1) This Act may be cited as
the Punjab Holy Quran (Printing
and Recording) Act, 2011.
(2) It extends to the whole of the Punjab.
(3) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions.– In this Act–
(a) “Ayah” means a
sentence, clause or verse of the Holy Quran at the end of which the small round
circle is given in the standard copy;
(b) “damaged
or shaheed copy of the Holy Quran” includes a sub-standard copy of the Holy Quran, damaged or
worn out pages of the Holy Quran and other pages containing Quranic verses;
(c) “disposal”
means collection and storage of a damaged or shaheed copy of the Holy Quran and
includes its burial under the ground or its disposal in the sea or river or
recycling it in such manner as conforms to its holiness and sanctity;
(d) “Holy Quran” means the Holy Quran in the Arabic
text, published in a complete form, or in the form of parts (Paaras) or
chapters (Surahs), but does not include extracts published in a text-book, a
prayer-book or a religious treatise;
(e) “prescribed”
means
prescribed by the rules made under the Act;
(f) “publisher” means a person or an association of
persons registered under section 3 as publisher of the Holy Quran;
(g) “Quran
Board” means the Quran Board
constituted under section 4;
(h) “record of the Holy Quran”
means the
Holy Quran recited in human voice and recorded by any modern means of
recording, conforming to the text contained in the standard copy;
(i) “recording company” means a person or an association of
persons registered under section 3 as a recording company; and
(j) “standard copy” means a copy of the Holy Quran
authenticated by the Quran Board as corrected and free from errors of printing.
3. Registration
of publishers and recording companies.– The
Government may, in the prescribed manner and on payment of prescribed fee and
fulfillment of the prescribed terms and conditions, register a publisher or a
recording company for purposes of publishing or recording the Holy Quran.
4. Quran Board.– (1) The Government shall constitute a
Quran Board comprising prominent Ulama, Huffaz and Qaris of all schools of
thought amongst Muslims.
(2) The Government shall cause a copy of the Holy Quran to be
prepared, and shall forward it to the Quran Board for authentication as a
standard copy.
(3) The Government shall keep the standard copy in the Government
archives for safe custody.
(4) The Quran Board
shall recommend steps for error-free printing and publication or recording of
the Holy Quran and shall, subject to the direction of the Government, supervise
the work of error-free printing and publication or recording of the Holy Quran.
(5) The Quran Board shall perform such other
functions as may be prescribed.
5. Publishing
of the Holy Quran.– (1)
A publisher may print the Holy Quran in off-set, photostat, photo-block or any
other modern system of printing but he shall not print it in litho process.
(2) In printing the Holy Quran, a publisher
shall not use paper prohibited by the Government.
(3) The publisher shall get his specimen
copy and every recording company shall get its specimen record of the Holy
Quran compared with the text of the standard copy by a person holding a diploma
from a religious institution or a certificate of Moulvi Fazil or a qualified
Qari who is also a Hafiz or a person trained in the job of proof reading in
Arabic and have a certificate recorded by such a person at the end to the
effect that the text and references do not contain any error.
(4) The publisher shall ensure–
(a) that
the serial number of every chapter (Surah) is printed on every page and the
serial number of every Ayah is inserted within the small round circle of every
Ayah;
(b) that
the cover page of every edition of the Holy Quran clearly bears the name of the
publisher, the name of printing press, and the year of publication;
(c) that
every page of the Holy Quran bears the indication given in the Schedule; and
(d) on
detection of any error or omission in the printed Holy Quran, the leaf on which
it occurs is replaced by a fresh leaf free from such error or omission, in each
such copy.
(5) The publisher shall not be penalized for
non compliance with the provisions of clauses (a) and (c) of sub-section (4)
unless he is found negligent in the performance of his duty.
(6) No translation of the Holy Quran shall
be published or recorded without its Arabic text.
(7) No record of the Holy Quran which
injures its sanctity, in any form, shall be prepared.
6. Literal distortion of the text of
ayah.– Where, in a copy or record of the Holy Quran or in any
extract thereof published in a text-book, a prayer book, a religious treatise
or otherwise, any Ayah has been literally distorted, either by change of a
word, or of sequence, or of Ea’rab, as to alter its meaning, the printer or
publisher thereof, or, as the case may be, the recording company, whether or
not registered under this Act shall, unless he or it proves that such
distortion occurred only owing to a printing or mechanical error, be liable to
the punishment provided for in section 9.
7. Translation or interpretation of the
Holy Quran contrary to belief of Muslims.– Where, in a
copy or record of the Holy Quran, or in any extract thereof published in a text
book, a prayer book, a religious treatise or any other book, an Ayah is
translated, interpreted or commented upon by a non-Muslim contrary to the
belief of Muslims, the author, the printer or publisher, or the person who
prepared the record, whether or not registered under this Act, shall, unless he
proves that such translation, interpretation or commentary occurred only owing
to a printing or mechanical error, be liable to punishment provided for in
section 9.
8. Disposal
of damaged or shaheed copies.– A publisher or a recording company
shall make suitable arrangements in the prescribed manner for disposal of a
damaged or shaheed copy of the Holy Quran and shall comply with the directions
of the Government issued for proper disposal of a damaged or shaheed copy of
the Holy Quran.
9. Penalty.– (1) A printer, publisher or a proprietor of a recording
company who contravenes any provision of this Act or the rules made thereunder,
or a person in whose voice a record is prepared, or a person who has certified
under sub-section (3) of section 5, a specimen copy or record of the Holy Quran
which is not in conformity with the provisions of this Act, shall be liable to
imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine of not
less than twenty thousand rupees, or with both.
(2) The Government may cancel the
registration under section 3 of a publisher who or a recording company which is
convicted of an offence under sub-section (1).
10. Offences by corporations.– If the person guilty of an offence
under sub-section (1) of section 9 is a company or other body corporate, every
proprietor, director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company or
body corporate shall, unless he proves that the offence was committed without
his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission
of the offence, be deemed to be guilty of such offence.
11. Power to make rules.– (1) The Government may, by
notification in the official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes
of this Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to
the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for–
(a) the
constitution and functions of
the Quran Board;
(b) the
inspection of the copies and records of the Holy Quran printed or prepared
before the commencement of this Act;
(c) the
prohibition of the sale of copies and records of the Holy Quran containing
errors;
(d) the
checking of all such copies and records of the Holy Quran as have not been
certified under this Act as free from errors, at the expense of the publisher
or recording company;
(e) the
seizure of such copies or records of the Holy Quran in which there are errors
which cannot, in the opinion of the prescribed authority, easily be corrected
in print or record; and
(f) the disposal of a damaged or shaheed copy of the Holy Quran.
12. Repeal.– (1) The Publication of Holy Quran
(Elimination of Printing and Recording Errors) Act 1973 (LIV of 1973), in its
application to the Province of the Punjab, is hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding the repeal of the Publication
of Holy Quran (Elimination of Printing and Recording Errors) Act 1973 (LIV of
1973), anything done or action taken under the repealed Act, shall have effect
as if the thing was done or the action was taken under this Act.
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Schedule
[see section 5 (4) (c)]
Upper
Side of the Page:
|
||
|
Serial Number of Surah
with caption as,
“________البقرہ ______”.
|
Page Number,
“______”.
|
Serial Number of Paara with opening words as,
“________تِلکَ رسُل ______”.
|
|
Lower
Side of the Page:
|
||
|
Serial Number of Surah with Serial Number of concluding
Ayah on the page as,
“_____سورہ۔۲ آیتہ۔۹____”.
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Manzil
|
Serial Number of Surah with opening Ayah on the page as,
“______سورہ۔۵ آیتہ۔۵_____”.
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[1][1]This Act was
passed by the Punjab Assembly on 30 March 2011; assented to by the Governor of
the Punjab on 30 April 2011; and published in the Punjab Gazette
(Extraordinary), dated 2 May 2011, pages 38643-46.
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