The child and adolescent labour (prohibition and regulation) act, 1986

S.1 Short title, extent and commencement.

¹[1. Short title, extent and commencement.--(1) This Act may be called ²[the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986].

(2) It extends to the whole of India.

(3) The provisions of this Act, other than Part III, shall come into force at once, and Part III shall come into force on such date³ as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different States and for different classes of establishments.]

S.2 Definitions.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--

¹[(i) "adolescent" means a person who has completed his fourteenth year of age but has not completed his eighteenth year;]

²[(ia)] "appropriate Government" means, in relation to an establishment under the control of the Central Government or a railway administration or a major port or a mine or oilfield, the Central Government, and in all other cases, the State Government;

³[(ii) "child" means a person who has not completed his fourteenth year of age or such age as may be specified in the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (35 of 2009), whichever is more;]

S.3 Prohibition of employment of children in any occupation and process.

¹[3. Prohibition of employment of children in any occupations and processes.--(1) No child shall be employed or permitted to work in any occupation or process.

(2) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall apply where the child,--

(a) helps his family or family enterprise, which is other than any hazardous occupations or processes set forth in the Schedule, after his school hours or during vacations;

(b) works as an artist in an audio-visual entertainment industry, including advertisement, films, television serials or any such other entertainment or sports activities except the circus, subject to such conditions and safely measures, as may be prescribed:

S.3A Prohibition of employment of adolescents in certain hazardous occupations and processes.

¹[(3A). Prohibition of employment of adolescents in certain hazardous occupations and process.No adolescent shall be employed or permitted to work in any of the hazardous occupations or processes set forth in the Schedule:

Provided that the Central Government may, by notification, specify the nature of the non-hazardous work to which an adolescent may be permitted to work under this Act.]

S.4 Power to amend the Schedule.

The Central Government, after giving by notification in the Official Gazette, not less than three months notice of its intention so to do, may, by like notification, ¹[add to, or, omit from, the Schedule any hazardous occupation or process] and thereupon the Schedule shall be deemed to have been amended accordingly.

S.5 Technical Advisory Committee.

5. ¹[Technical Advisory Committee].(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute an advisory committee to be called the ¹[Technical Advisory Committee] (hereafter in this section referred to as the Committee) to advise the Central Government for the purpose of addition of occupations and processes to the Schedule.

(2) The Committee shall consist of a Chairman and such other members not exceeding ten, as may be appointed by the Central Government.

(3) The Committee shall meet as often as it may consider necessary and shall have power to regulate its own procedure.

(4) The Committee may, if it deems it necessary so to do, constitute one or more sub-committees and may appoint to any such sub-committee, wheth

S.6 Application of Part.

¹[6. Application of Part.--The provisions of this Part shall apply to an establishment or a class of establishments in which none of the occupations or processes referred to in ²[section 3A] is carried on.]

S.7 Hours and period of work.

(1) No ¹[adolescent] shall be required or permitted to work in any establishment in excess of such number of hours as may be prescribed for such establishment or class of establishments.

(2) The period of work on each day shall be so fixed that no period shall exceed three hours and that no ¹[adolescent] shall work for more than three hours before he has had an interval for rest for at least one hour.

(3) The period of work of a ¹[adolescent] shall be so arranged that inclusive of his interval for rest, under sub-section (2), it shall not be spread over more than six hours, including the time spent in waiting for work on any day.

(4) No ¹[adolescent] shall be permitted or required to work between 7 p. m and 8 a.m.

S.8 Weekly holidays.

Every¹[adolescent] employed in an establishment shall be allowed in each week, a holiday of one whole day, which day shall be specified by the occupier in a notice permanently exhibited in a conspicuous place in the establishment and the day so specified shall not be altered by the occupier more than once in three months.

S.9 Notice to Inspector.

(1) Every occupier in relation to an establishment in which a ¹[adolescent] was employed or permitted to work immediately before the date of commencement of this Act in relation to such establishment shall, within a period of thirty days from such commencement, send to the Inspector within whose local limits the establishment is situated, a written notice containing the following particulars, namely:--

(a) the name and situation of the establishment;

(b) the name of the person in actual management of the establishment;

If any question arises between an Inspector and an occupier as to the age of any ¹[adolescent] who is employed or is permitted to work by him in an establishment, the question shall, in the absence of a certificate as to the age of such ¹[adolescent] granted by the prescribed medical authority, be referred by the Inspector for decision to the prescribed medical authority.

S.11 Maintenance of register.

There shall be maintained by every occupier in respect of ¹[adolescent] employed or permitted to work in any establishment, a register to be available for inspection by an Inspector at all times during working hours or when work is being carried on in any such establishment, showing--

(a) the name and date of birth of every ²[adolescent] so employed or permitted to work;

(b) hours and periods of work of any such ²[adolescent] and the intervals of rest to which he is entitled;

12. Display of notice containing abstract of ¹[sections 3A and 14].--Every railway administration, every port authority and every occupier shall cause to be displayed in a conspicuous and accessible place at every station on its railway or within the limits of a port or at the place of work, as the case may be, a notice in the local language and in the English language containing an abstract of ¹[sections 3A and 14].

S.13 Health and safety.

(1) The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for the health and safety of the ¹[adolescent] employed or permitted to work in any establishment or class of establishments.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions, the said rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:--

(a) cleanliness in the place of work and its freedom from nuisance;

(b) disposal of wastes and effluents;

S.14 Penalties.

¹[(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.

(1A) Whoever employs any adolescent or permits any adolescent to work in contravention of the provisions of section 3A 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 whi

S.14A Offences to be Congnizable.

¹[14A. Offences to be Congnizable.--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 3A shall be cognizable.]

S.14B Child and Adolescent Labour Rehabilitation Fund.

¹[14B. 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.

S.14C Rehabilitation of rescued child or adolescent.

¹[14C. 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.]

S.14D Compounding of offences.

¹[14D. 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 rel

S.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);

S.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.

S.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).

S.17A District Magistrate to implement the provisions.

¹[17A. 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.]

S.17B Inspection and monitoring.

¹[17B. 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.]

S.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:--

¹[(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;]

²[(b)] the term of office of, the manner of filling casual vacancies of, and the allowances payable to, the Chairman and members of the

S.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

S.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).

S.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.

S.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.