14. Penalties.— (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 three months but which may extend to one
year or with fine which shall not be less than ten thousand rupees but which may
extend to twenty thousand rupees or with both.
(2) Whoever, having been convicted of an offence under section 3, commits
a like offence afterwards, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term
which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to two years.
(3) Whoever—
(a) fails to give notice as required by section 9; or
(b) fails to maintain a register as required by section 11 or makes any false
entry in any such register; or
(c) fails to display a notice containing an abstract of section 3 and this
section as required by section 12; or
(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. 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 1982);
(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.— (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.— 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).
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:—
(a) the term of office of, the manner of filling casual vacancies of, and the
allowances payable to the Chairman and members of the Child Labour
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;
(b) number of hours for which a child may be required or permitted to work
under sub-section (1) of section 7;
(c) 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 n o charge shall be made for the issue of any such certificate if
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986
the application is accompanied by evidence of age deemed satisfactory by the
authority concerned;
(d) the other particulars which a register maintained under section 11 should
contain.
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.— 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.— (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.— (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 1253 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.— In section 2 of the Minimum Wages Act,
1948,—
(i) for clause (a), the following clauses shall be substituted, namely:—
‘(a) “adolescent” means a person who has completed his fourteenth year
of age but has not completed his eighteenth year;
(aa) “adult” means a person who has completed his eighteenth year of
age;’;
(ii) after clause (b), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:—
‘(bb) “child” means a person who has not completed his fourteenth year of
age;’.
24. Amendment of Act 69 of 1951.— In the Plantations Labour Act, 1951,—
(a) in section 2, in clauses (a) and (c), for the word “fifteenth”, the word
“fourteenth” shall be substituted;
(b) section 24 shall be omitted;
(c) in section 26, in the opening portion, the words “who has completed his
twelfth year” shall be omitted.
25. Amendment of Act 44 of 1958.— In the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, in
section 109, for the word “fifteen”, the word “fourteen” shall be substituted.
26. Amendment of Act 27 of 1961.— In the Motor Transport Workers Act,
1961, in section 2, in clauses (a) and (c), for the word “fifteenth”, the word
“fourteenth” shall be substituted.