Only the person in-charge can be prosecuted for violation of Contract Labour (R&A) Act

Only the person in-charge can be prosecuted for violation of Contract Labour (R&A) Act

One Shekhar Sinha, the petitioner was prosecuted by the Labour Department through Labour Superintendent cum Inspector, Jamshedpur stating that Tata Motors Ltd. is engaging contract labour and it was found that the petitioner has violated the provisions of the Contract Labour (R&A) Act and, as such, he should be punished as per section 23 read with section 25 of the said Act since there is violation on the part of the petitioner. However, the complainant did not state as to in what capacity the petitioner has been responsible for non compliance of the Act. The petitioner filed a petition in the High Court and while accepting the petition the court has held that the complaint under section 10(1) and 23 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 is not sustainable against a person who is not incharge of and responsible to the company for the conduct of its business or day-to-day at the time of commission of offence.