49. Competent authority
The State Government shall appoint an authority as it deems fit to be a competent authority for the purposes of this Chapter.
50. Registration
Save as otherwise provided under this Act, no person shall establish or maintain any institution for persons with disabilities except in accordance with a certificate of registration issued in this behalf by the competent authority:
Provided that an institution for care of mentally ill persons, which holds a valid licence under section 8 of the Mental Health Act, 1987 or any other Act for the time being in force, shall not be required to be registered under this Act.
51. Application and grant of certificate of registration
(1) Every application for a certificate of registration shall be made to the competent authority in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed by the State Government.
(2) On receipt of an application under sub-section (1), the competent authority shall make such enquiries as it may deem fit and on being satisfied that the applicant has complied with the requirements of this Act and the rules made thereunder, it shall grant a certificate of registration to the applicant within a period of ninety days of receipt of application and if not satisfied, the competent authority shall, by order, refuse to grant the certificate applied for:
Provided that before making any order refusing to grant a certificate, the competent authority shall give the applicant a reasonable opportunity of being heard and every order of refusal to grant a certificate shall be communicated to the applicant in writing.
(3) No certificate of registration shall be granted under sub-section (2) unless the institution with respect to which an application has been made is in a position to provide such facilities and meet such standards as may be prescribed by the State Government.
(4) The certificate of registration granted under sub-section (2) ,—
(a) shall, unless revoked under section 52 remain in force for such period as may be prescribed by the State Government;
(b) may be renewed from time to time for a like period; and
(c) shall be in such form and shall be subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by the State Government.
(5) An application for renewal of a certificate of registration shall be made not less than sixty days before the expiry of the period of validity.
(6) A copy of the certificate of registration shall be displayed by the institution in a conspicuous place.
(7) Every application made under sub-section (1) or sub-section (5) shall be disposed of by the competent authority within such period as may be prescribed by the State Government.
52. Revocation of registration
(1) The competent authority may, if it has reason to believe that the holder of a certificate of registration granted under sub-section (2) of section 51 has,—
(a) made a statement in relation to any application for the issue or renewal of the certificate which is incorrect or false in material particulars; or
(b) committed or has caused to be committed any breach of rules or any conditions subject to which the certificate was granted,
it may, after making such inquiry, as it deems fit, by order, revoke the certificate:
Provided that no such order shall be made until an opportunity is given to the holder of the certificate to show cause as to why the certificate of registration shall not be revoked.
(2) Where a certificate of registration in respect of an institution has been revoked under sub-section (1), such institution shall cease to function from the date of such revocation:
Provided that where an appeal lies under section 53 against the order of revocation, such institution shall cease to function,—
(a) where no appeal has been preferred immediately on the expiry of the period prescribed for the filing of such appeal; or
(b) where such appeal has been preferred, but the order of revocation has been upheld, from the date of the order of appeal.
(3) On the revocation of a certificate of registration in respect of an institution, the competent authority may direct that any person with disability who is an inmate of such institution on the date of such revocation, shall be—
(a) restored to the custody of his or her parent, spouse or lawful guardian, as the case may be; or
(b) transferred to any other institution specified by the competent authority.
(4) Every institution which holds a certificate of registration which is revoked under this section shall, immediately after such revocation, surrender such certificate to the competent authority.
53. Appeal
(1) Any person aggrieved by the order of the competent authority refusing to grant a certificate of registration or revoking a certificate of registration may, within such period as may be prescribed by the State Government, prefer an appeal to such appellate authority, as may be notified by the State Government against such refusal or revocation.
(2) The order of the appellate authority on such appeal shall be final.
54. Act not to apply to institutions established or maintained by Central or Stat Government
Nothing contained in this Chapter shall apply to an institution for persons with disabilities established or maintained by the Central Government or a State Government.
55. Assistance to registered institutions
The appropriate Government may within the limits of their economic capacity and development, grant financial assistance to registered institutions to provide services and to implement the schemes and programmes in pursuance of the provisions of this Act.