(1) Any person authorised in this behalf by the Central Government may, for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not the owner or occupier of any property required to be insured under this Act has taken out a policy of insurance as required by this Act in respect of such property, or for the purpose of investigating the insurable value of any property insured, or required to be insured, or proposed for insurance under this Act, or for the purpose of estimating the damage suffered by any property insured under this Act,--
         (a) require the owner or occupier of the property, or any person carrying on in India the business of fire insurance in respect of the property, to submit to him such accounts, books or other documents or to furnish to him such information as he may reasonably think necessary, or
         (b) at any reasonable time, enter any premises comprising or containing the property, inspect such premises or property, and require any person found on such premises, who is for the time being in charge thereof, or in control thereof, or whom he believes to be in possession of information relevant to his investigation, to produce to him and allow him to examine such accounts, books or other documents as he may think necessary, or to furnish to him such other information as he may reasonably think necessary.
     (2) Whoever wilfully obstructs any person in the exercise of his powers under this section or fails without reasonable excuse to comply with any demand made thereunder shall, in respect of each occasion on which any such obstruction or failure takes place, be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.
     (3) Whoever, in purporting to comply with his obligations under this section, knowingly or recklessly makes a statement false in a material particular shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.
     (4) Where in any proceedings in respect of a contravention of section 5 in relation to any undertaking, it is proved, in relation to that undertaking--
         (a) that a demand for the production of a policy of insurance issued in accordance with the Scheme insuring the owner or occupier of the insurable property was duly made under this section and was not complied with, and
         (b) that the person making the demand was not satisfied that there was such a policy in existence,
it shall be presumed, except in so far as the contrary is proved, that the said section 5 was being contravened in relation to that undertaking at the time when the demand was made and continued to be contravened in relation to that undertaking at all times thereafter.