16. Effect of laws and agreements inconsistent with this Act.—(1) The provisions of this Act shall
have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law or in the terms of
any award, agreement or contract of service, whether made before or after the commencement of this Act:
Provided that where under any such award, agreement, contract of service or otherwise, a newspaper
employee is entitled to benefits in respect of any matter which are more favourable to him than those to
which he would be entitled under this Act, the newspaper employee shall continue to be entitled to the
more favourable benefits in respect of that matter, notwithstanding that he receives benefits in respect of
other matters under this Act.
(2) Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to preclude any newspaper employee from
entering into an agreement with an employer for granting him rights or privileges in respect of any matter
which are more favourable to him than those to which he would be entitled under this Act.
2
[16A. Employer not to dismiss, discharge, etc., newspaper employees.—No employer in relation
to a newspaper establishment shall, by reason of his liability for payment of wages to newspaper
employees at the rates specified in an order of the Central Government under section 12, or under section
12 read with section 13AA or section 13DD, dismiss, discharge or retrench any newspaper employee.]
3
[17. Recovery of money due from an employer.—(1) Where any amount is due under this Act to a
newspaper employee from an employer, the newspaper employee himself, or any person authorised by
him in writing in this behalf, or in the case of the death of the employee, any member of his family may,
without prejudice to any other mode of recovery, make an application to the State Government for the
recovery of the amount due to him, and if the State Government, or such authority, as the State
1. Subs. by Act 99 of 1976, s. 17, for “and Family Pension Fund” (w.e.f. 1-8-1976).
2. Ins. by Act 36 of 1981, s. 3 (w.e.f. 13-8-1980).
3. Subs. by Act 65 of 1962, s. 5, for section 17 (w.e.f. 15-1-1963).
12
Government may specify in this behalf, is satisfied that any amount is so due, it shall issue a certificate
for that amount to the Collector, and the Collector shall proceed to recover that amount in the same
manner as an arrear of land revenue.
(2) If any question arises as to the amount due under this Act to a newspaper employee from his
employer, the State Government may, on its own motion or upon application made to it, refer the question
to any Labour Court constituted by it under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947) or under any
corresponding law relating to investigation and settlement of industrial disputes in force in the State and
the said Act or law shall have effect in relation to the Labour Court as if the question so referred were a
matter referred to the Labour Court for adjudication under that Act or law.
(3) The decision of the Labour Court shall be forwarded by it to the State Government which made
the reference and any amount found due by the Labour Court may be recovered in the manner provided in
sub-section (1).
17A. Maintenance of registers, records, and muster-rolls.—Every employer in relation to a
newspaper establishment shall prepare and maintain such registers, records and muster-rolls and in such
manner as may be prescribed.
17B. Inspectors.—(1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint
such persons as it thinks fit to be Inspectors for the purposes of this Act and may define the local limits
within which they shall exercise their functions.
(2) Any Inspector appointed under sub-section (1) may for the purpose of ascertaining whether any of
the provisions of this Act or of the Working Journalists (Fixation of Rates of Wages) Act, 1958 (29 of
1958) have been complied with in respect of a newspaper establishment—
(a) require an employer to furnish such information as he may consider necessary;
(b) at any reasonable time enter any newspaper establishment or any premises connected
therewith and require any one found in charge thereof to produce before him for examination any
accounts, books, registers and other documents relating to the employment of persons or the payment
of wages in the establishment;
(c) examine with respect to any matter relevant to any of the purposes aforesaid, the employer, his
agent or servant or any other person found in charge of the newspaper establishment or any premises
connected therewith or any person whom the Inspector has reasonable cause to believe to be or to
have been an employee in the establishment;
(d) make copies of or take extracts from any book, register or other documents maintained in
relation to the newspaper establishment;
(e) exercise such other powers as may be prescribed.
(3) Every Inspector shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of the Indian Penal
Code (45 of 1860).
(4) Any person required to produce any document or thing or to give information by an Inspector
under sub-section (2) shall be legally bound to do so.]
18. Penalty.—1
[(1) If any employer contravenes any of the provisions of this Act or any rule or order
made thereunder, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees.
(1A) Whoever, having been convicted of any offence under this Act, is again convicted of an offence
involving the contravention of the same provision, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five
hundred rupees.
(1B) Where an offence has been committed by a company, every person who, at the time the offence
was committed, was in charge of, and was responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of
the company, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be
proceeded against and punished accordingly:
1. Subs. by Act 65 of 1962, s. 6, for sub-section (1) (w.e.f. 15-1-1993).
13
Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to any
punishment provided in this section if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or
that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.
(1C) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1B), where an offence under this section has
been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or
connivance of, or that the commission of the offence is attributable to, any gross negligence on the part of
any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or
other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of such offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against
and punished accordingly.
(1D) Forthe purposes of this section,—
(a) “company” means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals;
and
(b) “director” in relation to a firm means a partner in the firm.]
(2) No Court inferior to that of a Presidency Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class shall try any
offence punishable under this section.
(3) No Court shall take cognizance of an offence under this section, unless the complaint thereof is
made within six months of the date on which the offence is alleged to have been committed.
19. Indemnity.—No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Chairman or any
other member of the Board 1
[or the person contributing the Tribunal] 2
[or an Inspector appointed under
this Act] for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done.
3
[19A. Defects in appointments not to invalidate acts.—No act or proceeding of the Board shall be
questioned on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy in, or defect in the constitution of the
Board.
19B. Saving.—Nothing in this Act or the Working Journalists (Fixation of Rates of Wages) Act,
1958 (29 of 1958) shall apply to 4
[any newspaper employee] who is an employee of the Government to
whom the Fundamental and Supplementary Rules, Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal)
Rules, Civil Services (Temporary Service) Rules, Revised Leave Rules, Civil Service Regulations,
Civilians in Defence Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules or the Indian Railway
Establishment Code or any other rules or regulations that may be notified in this behalf by the Central
Government in the Official Gazette, apply.]
20. Power to make rules.—(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
make rules to carry out the purposes 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) payment of gratuity to working journalists;
(b) hours of work of working journalists;
(c) holidays, earned leave, leave on medical certificate, casual leave or any other kind of leave
admissible to working journalists;
5
[(d) the procedure to be followed by the Board 6
[or, as the case may be, the Tribunal,] in the
discharge of its functions under this Act;
(e) the form of nominations, and the manner in which nominations may be made;
1. Ins. by Act 6 of 1979, s. 5 (w.e.f. 31-1-1979).
2. Ins. by Act 65 of 1962, s. 7 (w.e.f. 15-1-1963).
3. Ins. by s. 8, ibid. (w.e.f. 15-1-1963).
4. Subs. by Act 60 of 1974, s. 5.
5. Subs. by Act 65 of 1962, s. 9, for clauses (d), (e) and (f) (w.e.f. 15-1-1963).
6. Ins. by Act 6 of 1979, s. 6 (w.e.f. 31-1-1979).
14
(f) the manner in which any person may be appointed for the purposes of sub-section (3) of
section 5A;
(g) the variation or cancellation of nominations;
(h) the manner of giving notice under clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 12;
(i) the registers, records and muster-rolls to be prepared and maintained by newspaper
establishments, the forms in which they should be prepared and maintained and the particulars to be
entered therein;
(j) the powers that may be exercised by an Inspector;
(k) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed.]
1
[(3) Every rule made under this section shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made before each
House of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one
session 2
[or in two or more successive sessions], and if before the expiry of the session 3
[immediately
following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid], both Houses agree in making any modification
in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule 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.]
21. [Repeal of Act 1 of 1955].—Rep. by the Repealing and Amending Act, 1960 (58 of 1960), s. 2 and
the First Schedule.
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