Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986- Sections 14 to 26

Part IV

MISCELLANEOUS

14. Penalties.

14. Penalties.—[i][(1) Whoever employs any child or permits any child to work in contravention of the provisions of Section 3 shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to two years, or with fine which shall not be less than twenty thousand rupees but which may extend to fifty thousand rupees, or with both:

Provided that the parents or guardians of such children shall not be punished unless they permit such child for commercial purposes in contravention of the provisions of Section 3.]

[ii][(1-A) Whoever employs any adolescent or permits any adolescent to work in contravention of the provisions of Section 3-A shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to two years or with fine which shall not be less than twenty thousand rupees but which may extend to fifty thousand rupees, or with both:

Provided that the parents or guardians of such adolescent shall not be punished unless they permit such adolescent to work in contravention of the provisions of Section 3-A.

(1-B) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections (1) and (1-A) the parents or guardians of any child or adolescent referred to in Section 3 or Section 3-A, shall not be liable for punishment, in case of the first offence.]

[iii][(2) Whoever, having been convicted of an offence under Section 3 or Section 3-A commits a like offence afterwards, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to three years.]

[iv][(2-A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), the parents or guardian having been convicted of an offence under Section 3 or Section 3-A, commits a like offence afterwards, he shall be punishable with a fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees.]

(3) Whoever—

(a) [v][* * *]

(b) [vi][* * *]

(c) [vii][* * *]

(d) fails to comply with or contravenes any other provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder,

shall be punishable with simple imprisonment which may extend to one month or with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees or with both.

14-A. Offences to be Cognizable.

[viii][14-A. Offences to be Cognizable.—Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), any offence committed by an employer and punishable under Section 3 or Section 3-A shall be cognizable.]

14-B. Child and Adolescent Labour Rehabilitation Fund.

[ix][14-B. Child and Adolescent Labour Rehabilitation Fund.—(1) The appropriate Government shall constitute a Fund in every district or for two or more districts to be called the Child and Adolescent Labour Rehabilitation Fund to which the amount of the fine realized from the employer of the child and adolescent, within the jurisdiction of such district or districts, shall be credited.

(2) The appropriate Government shall credit an amount of fifteen thousand rupees to the Fund for each child or adolescent for whom the fine amount has been credited under sub-section (1).

(3) The amount credited to the Fund under sub-sections (1) and (2) shall be deposited in such banks or invested in such manner, as the appropriate Government may decide.

(4) The amount deposited or invested, as the case may be under sub-section (3), and the interest accrued on it, shall be paid to the child or adolescent in whose favour such amount is credited, in such manner as may be prescribed.

Explanation.—For the purposes of appropriate Government, the Central Government shall include the Administrator or the Lieutenant Governor of a Union territory under Article 239-A of the Constitution.]

14-C. Rehabilitation of rescued child or adolescent.

[x][14-C. Rehabilitation of rescued child or adolescent.—The child or adolescent, who is employed in contravention of the provisions of this Act and rescued, shall be rehabilitated in accordance with the laws for the time being in force.]

14-D. Compounding of offences.

[xi][14-D. Compounding of offences.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974.), the District Magistrate may, on the application of the accused person, compound any offence committed for the first time by him, under sub-section (3) of Section 14 or any offence committed by an accused person being parent or a guardian, in such manner and on payment of such amount to the appropriate Government, as may be prescribed.

(2) If the accused fails to pay such amount for composition of the offence, then, the proceedings shall be continued against such person in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(3) Where any offence is compounded before the institution of any prosecution, no prosecution shall be instituted in relation to such offence, against the offender in relation to whom the offence is so compounded.

(4) Where the composition of any offence is made after the institution of any prosecution, such composition shall be brought in writing, to the notice of the Court in which the prosecution is pending and on the approval of the composition of the offence being given, the person against whom the offence is so compounded, shall be discharged.]

15. Modified application of certain laws in relation to penalties.

15. Modified application of certain laws in relation to penalties.—(1) Where any person is found guilty and convicted of contravention of any of the provisions mentioned in sub-section (2), he shall be liable to penalties as provided in sub-sections (1) and (2) of Section 14 of this Act and not under the Acts in which those provisions are contained.

(2) The provisions referred to in sub-section (1) are the provisions mentioned below:—

(a) Section 67 of the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948);

(b) Section 40 of the Mines Act, 1952 (35 of 1952);

(c) Section 109 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 (44 of 1958); and

(d) Section 21 of the Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961 (27 of 1961).

16. Procedure relating to offences.

16. Procedure relating to offences.—(1) Any person, police officer or Inspector may file a complaint of the commission of an offence under this Act in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(2) Every certificate as to the age of a child which has been granted by a prescribed medical authority shall, for the purposes of this Act, be conclusive evidence as to the age of the child to whom it relates.

(3) No court inferior to that of a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class shall try any offence under this Act.

17. Appointment of inspectors.

17. Appointment of inspectors.—The appropriate Government may appoint Inspectors for the purposes of securing compliance with the provisions of this Act and any Inspector so appointed shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

17-A. District Magistrate to implement the provisions.

[xii][17-A. District Magistrate to implement the provisions.—The appropriate Government may confer such powers and impose such duties on a District Magistrate as may be necessary, to ensure that the provisions of this Act are properly carried out and the District Magistrate may specify the officer, subordinate to him, who shall exercise all or any of the powers, and perform all or any of the duties, so conferred or imposed and the local limits within which such powers or duties shall be carried out by the officer as may be prescribed.]

17-B. Inspection and monitoring.

[xiii][17-B. Inspection and monitoring.—The appropriate Government shall make or cause to be made periodic inspection of the places at which the employment of children is prohibited and hazardous occupations or processes are carried out at such intervals as it thinks fit, and monitor the issues, relating to the provisions of this Act.]

18. Power to make rules.

18. Power to make rules.—(1) The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette and subject to the condition of previous publication, make rules for carrying into effect the provisions of this Act.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:—

[xiv][(a) the conditions and the safety measures under clause (b) of sub-section (2) and other activities under clause (b) to Explanation of sub-section (2) of Section 3;]

[xv][(b)] the term of office of, the manner of filling casual vacancies of, and the allowances payable to the Chairman and members of the [xvi][Technical Advisory Committee] and the conditions and restrictions subject to which a non-member may be appointed to a sub-committee under sub-section (5) of Section 5;

[xvii][(c)] number of hours for which a [xviii][adolescent] may be required or permitted to work under sub-section (1) of Section 7;

[xix][(d)] grant of certificates of age in respect of young persons in employment or seeking employment, the medical authorities which may issue such certificate, the form of such certificate, the charges which may be made thereunder and the manner in which such certificate may be issued:

Provided that no charge shall be made for the issue of any such certificate if the application is accompanied by evidence of age deemed satisfactory by the authority concerned;

[xx][(e)] the other particulars which a register maintained under Section 11 should contain.

[xxi][(f) the manner of payment of amount to the child or adolescent under sub-section (4) of Section 14-B;

(g) the manner of composition of the offence and payment of amount to the appropriate Government under sub-section (1) of Section 14-D;

(h) the powers to be exercised and the duties to be performed by the officer specified and the local limits within which such powers or duties shall be carried out under Section 17-A.]

19. Rules and notifications to be laid before Parliament or State legislature.

19. Rules and notifications to be laid before Parliament or State legislature.—(1) Every rule made under this Act by the Central Government and every notification issued under Section 4, shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made or issued, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or notification or both Houses agree that the rule or notification should not be made or issued, the rule or notification shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule or notification.

(2) Every rule made by a State Government under this Act shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made, before the legislature of that State.

20. Certain other provisions of law not barred.

20. Certain other provisions of law not barred.—Subject to the provisions contained in Section 15, the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, the provisions of the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948), the Plantations Labour Act, 1951 (69 of 1951), and the Mines Act, 1952 (35 of 1952).

21. Power to remove difficulties.

21. Power to remove difficulties.—(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Central Government may, by order published in the Official Gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for removal of the difficulty:

Provided that no such order shall be made after the expiry of a period of three years from the date on which this Act receives the assent of the President.

(2) Every order made under this section shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be laid before the Houses of Parliament.

22. Repeal and savings.

22. Repeal and savings.—(1) The Employment of Children Act, 1938 (26 of 1938), is hereby repealed.

(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken or purported to have been done or taken under the Act so repealed shall, in so far as it is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act.

23. Amendment of Act 11 of 1948.

23. Amendment of Act 11 of 1948.—[xxii][Repealed]

24. Amendment of Act 69 of 1951.

24. Amendment of Act 69 of 1951.—[xxiii][Repealed]

25. Amendment of Act 44 of 1958.

25. Amendment of Act 44 of 1958.—[xxiv][Repealed]

26. Amendment of Act 27 of 1961.

26. Amendment of Act 27 of 1961.—[xxv][Repealed]

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