Section 286: Importing seditious publication

286. Importing seditious publication (1) Where the President is of opinion that any publication is seditious, he may, if he thinks fit, by Proclamation, prohibit the importation into Mauritius of that publication and also, in the case of a periodical publication, of any past or future issue of that publication. (2) Any person who imports, sells, distributes, posts, prints, publishes, copies, reproduces, or has in his possession, power or control, any publication of which the importation is for the time being prohibited by Proclamation, shall commit an offence, and the publication shall be forfeited. (3) Any person to whom a publication of which the importation is for the time being prohibited by Proclamation is sent without his knowledge or privity or in execution of an order given before the prohibition on its importation came into effect, or who has such a publication in his possession, power, or control, at the time when the prohibition or its importation comes into effect shall forthwith deliver it to the officer in charge of the nearest police station, and, if he fails to do so, he shall commit an offence. (4) Any person who complies with subsection (3) or is convicted of a breach of its provisions shall not be fined or imprisoned for having imported the same publication or for having it in his possession, power, or control. (5) Any licensee under the Postal Services Act who suspects that any postal packet contains a publication of which the importation is for the time being prohibited shall send the packet to the Director-General of the Mauritius Revenue Authority. [S. 286 amended by Act 48 of 1991.]