Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986- Sections 7 to 16

7. Restrictions on disclosure of information.

7. Restrictions on disclosure of information.—(1) All copies of, and extracts from, registers or other records in relation to any dock work and all other information required by the Chief Inspector or an Inspector or by any one assisting him, in the course of the inspection or investigation carried out for the purposes of this Act or the regulations shall be regarded as confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person or authority unless such disclosure is for the purpose of any action or proceeding under this Act or the regulations or under any other law or unless the Chief Inspector or the Inspector considers such disclosure necessary to ensure the health, safety or welfare of any dock worker.

(2) The Chief Inspector or the Inspector shall not disclose the source of any complaint bringing to his notice a defect or breach of any legal provisions and if any visit or inspection is to be made in connection with such a complaint, he shall give no intimation to the employer that the visit is made in consequence of receipt of such a complaint:

Provided that the restrictions imposed under this sub-section shall not apply to any case where the complainant himself has expressed his willingness to have the source of complaint disclosed.

(3) If the Chief Inspector or an Inspector or any other person referred to in sub-section (1) discloses, contrary to the provisions of this section, any information as aforesaid, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

8. Appeal.

8. Appeal.—Any person aggrieved by an order under Section 5 may, within fifteen days from the date on which the order is communicated to him, prefer an appeal to the Chief Inspector or where such order is by the Chief Inspector, to such authority as may be specified by the regulations and the Chief Inspector or such authority shall, after giving the appellant an opportunity of being heard, dispose of the appeal as expeditiously as possible:

Provided that the Chief Inspector or such authority may entertain the appeal after the expiry of the said period of fifteen days if he is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time:

Provided further that an order under Section 5 shall be complied with, pending the decision of the Chief Inspector or such authority.

9. Advisory Committee.

9. Advisory Committee.—(1) The appropriate Government may constitute an Advisory Committee to advise upon such matters arising out of the administration of this Act and the regulations as that Government may refer to it for advice.

(2) The members of the Advisory Committee shall be appointed by the appropriate Government and shall be of such number and chosen in such manner as may be prescribed by rules made under this Act:

Provided that the Advisory Committee shall include an equal number of members representing—

(i) the appropriate Government,

(ii) the dock workers, and

(iii) the employers of dock workers and shipping companies.

(3) The Chairman of the Advisory Committee shall be one of the members appointed to represent the appropriate Government, nominated in this behalf by that Government.

(4) The appropriate Government shall publish in the Official Gazette the names of all members of the Advisory Committee.

(5) The term of office of the members of the Advisory Committee and the manner of filling vacancies among, and the procedure to be followed in the discharge of their functions by, the members shall be such as may be prescribed by rules made under this Act.

10. Power of appropriate Government to direct inquiry into cases of accidents or diseases.

10. Power of appropriate Government to direct inquiry into cases of accidents or diseases.—(1) The appropriate Government may, if it considers it expedient to do so, appoint a competent person to inquire into the causes of any accident occurring in connection with any dock work or into any cases where a disease specified by regulations as a disease connected with dock work has been or is suspected to have been contracted by dock workers and may also appoint one or more persons possessing legal or special knowledge to act as assessors in such inquiry.

(2) The person appointed to hold an inquiry under this section shall have all the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) for the purposes of enforcing the attendance of witnesses and compelling the production of documents and material objects and may also, so far as may be necessary for the purposes of the inquiry, exercise any of the powers of an Inspector under this Act; and every person required by the person making the inquiry to furnish any information shall be deemed to be legally bound so to do within the meaning of Section 176 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

(3) The person holding the inquiry under this section shall make a report to the appropriate Government stating the causes of the accident or, as the case may be, disease and any attendant circumstances and adding any observations which he or any of the assessors may think fit to make.

(4) The procedure to be followed at inquiries under this section shall be such as the appropriate Government may prescribe by rules under Section 20.

11. Obligations of dock workers.

11. Obligations of dock workers.—(1) No dock worker shall—

(a) wilfully interfere with, or misuse, any appliance, convenience or other thing provided in connection with any dock work for the purpose of securing the health, safety and welfare of dock workers;

(b) wilfully and without reasonable cause do anything likely to endanger himself or others; and

(c) wilfully neglect to make use of any appliance, convenience or other thing provided in connection with any dock work for the purpose of securing the health, safety and welfare of dock workers.

(2) If any dock worker contravenes any of the provisions of sub-section (1), he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to one hundred rupees, or with both.

12. Power to exempt.

12. Power to exempt.—The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, exempt from all or any of the provisions of this Act and of the regulations, on such conditions, if any, as it thinks fit —

(a) any port or place, dock, wharf, quay or similar premises, if that Government is satisfied that dock work is only occasionally carried on or the traffic is small and confined to small ships and fishing vessels at such port, dock, wharf, quay or similar premises; or

(b) any specified ship or class of ships, if that Government is satisfied, having regard to the features of such ship or ships, the nature, quantum and periodicity of dock work carried thereon and all other relevant factors, that it is necessary so to do:

Provided that the appropriate Government shall not grant exemption under this section unless it is satisfied that such exemption will not adversely affect the health, safety and welfare of dock workers.

13. Protection of action taken in good faith.

13. Protection of action taken in good faith.—No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.

14. Penalties.

14. Penalties.—(1) Whoever,—

(a) wilfully obstructs an Inspector in exercise of any power conferred by or under this Act or fails to produce on demand by an Inspector any register or other documents kept in pursuance of the regulations or otherwise in connection with any dock work or conceals or prevents or attempts to prevent any person from appearing before, or being examined by, an Inspector; or

(b) unless duly authorised or in case of necessity, removes any fencing, gangway, gear, ladder, life-saving means or appliance, light, mark, stage or other thing required to be provided by, or under, the regulations; or

(c) having in case of necessity removed any such fencing, gangway, gear, ladder, life-saving means or appliance, light, mark, stage or other thing, omits to restore it at the end of the period for which its removal was necessary,

shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both.

(2) If any person, being a person whose duty is to comply with any of the regulations, contravenes such regulations and such contravention results—

(a) in any fatal accident to a dock worker, or

(b) an accident which incapacitates a dock worker from earning his full wages for more than a fortnight,

such person shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which shall not be less than two thousand rupees in a case falling under clause (a) and five hundred rupees in a case falling under clause (b) but which may extend, in either case, to five thousand rupees, or with both, and the court may order the whole or part of the fine to be paid to the dependent of the deceased dock worker or, as the case may be, to the injured dock worker.

Explanation.—The provisions of this sub-section shall be in addition to any provisions which may be made under sub-section (4) of Section 21.

(3) Subject to the provisions of Section 11, if any dock worker contravenes any provision of this Act or the regulations imposing any duty or liability on dock workers, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees, or with both.

(4) If any person who has been convicted for an offence punishable under any of the provisions of this Act or the regulations is again convicted for an offence committed within two years of the previous conviction and involving a contravention of the same provision, he shall be punishable for each subsequent conviction with double the imprisonment to which he would have been liable for the first contravention of such provision.

15. Determination of the persons responsible for the offence in certain cases.

15. Determination of the persons responsible for the offence in certain cases.—If the person committing an offence made punishable by this Act or the regulations or any abetment thereof is a firm or other association of individuals or a company or a local authority, all or any of the partners or members or directors thereof as well as the firm, association of individuals, company or local authority shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence or abetment and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:

Provided that where a firm, association or company has given notices in writing to the Chief Inspector and the Inspector of the port where any dock work is being carried that it has nominated,—

(a) in the case of a firm, any of its partners;

(b) in the case of an association, any of its members;

(c) in the case of a company, any of its directors,

who is resident, in each case in any place to which this Act extends and who is in each case either in fact in charge of the management of, or holds the largest number of shares in, such firm, association or company, to assume the responsibility of the person in charge of any dock work for the purposes of this Act, such partner, member or director, as the case may be, shall, so long as he continues to so reside and be in charge or hold the largest number of shares as aforesaid, be deemed to be the person in charge of such dock work for the purposes of this Act unless a notice in writing cancelling his nomination or stating that he has ceased to be a partner, member or director, as the case may be, is received by the Chief Inspector.

16. Power of court to make orders.

16. Power of court to make orders.—(1) Where a person is convicted of an offence punishable under this Act the court may, in addition to awarding him any punishment, by order in writing, require him within a period specified in the order (which may be extended by the court from time to time on application made in this behalf) to take such measures as may be so specified for remedying the matters in respect of which offence was committed.

(2) Where an order is made under sub-section (1), the person shall not be liable under this Act in respect of the continuance of the offence during the period, or extended period, if any, but if on the expiry of such period or extended period the order of the court has not been fully complied with, the person shall be deemed to have committed a further offence and shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one hundred rupees for every day after such expiry on which the order has not been complied with, or with both.