MOHAN LAL GOENKA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners Mohan Lal Goenka and J. N. Gupta, the owner and the Manager respectively of Khas Jambad Colliery, were convicted under Section 73 of the Mines Act for contravention of Rule 7(1) of Mines Creche Rules. And while Mohan Lal Goenka was sentenced to a fine of Rs. 150/ - or in default of payment of the fine to simple imprisonment for three months, J. N. Gupta was sentenced to a fine of Rs. 100/ - or in default of payment of the fine to simple imprisonment for two months. Admittedly, the mine in question engaged some women labourers and admittedly on the 24th November 1954 Miss S. Mathur, an Assistant Inspector Labour Welfare Department and an ex -officio Inspector of Mines visited the colliery which was within her circle, and found that no creche attendant had been appointed by the management as required under Sub -rule (1) of Rule 7 of the Mines Creche Rules. 1946,

(2.) THE defence of the petitioners was that the female workers employed in the colliery had no children below six years of age so that the question of the appointment of a creche attendant did not arise, that the prosecution was barred by limitation under Section 79 of the Mines Act and that the requirements of Sub -rule (1) of Rule 7 of the Mines Creche Rules were vague.

(3.) MR . Dutt on behalf of the petitioners has raised a number of points. The first is that the rules which were framed under the Mines Act of 1923 lapsed with the repeal of that Act and cannot be said to be in force after the Act of 1952 came into effect. Admittedly these Rules were framed under Section 30(bb) of the Act of 1923. The corresponding section in the Act of 1952 is Section 58(d). Section 30 (bb) runs as follows: 30. The Central Government may by notification in the Official Gazette make Rules consistent with this Act for all or any of the following purposes, namely: *** (bb) for requiring the maintenance in mines wherein any women are ordinarily employed of suitable rooms to be reserved for the use of children under the age of six years belonging to such women, and for prescribing, either generally or with particular reference to the number of women ordinarily employed in the mine, the number and standards of such rooms, and the nature and extent of the supervision to be provided therein. This provision in the Mines Act of 1923 was inserted by the Mines Amendment Ordinance 1945, Section 58(d) of the Act of 1952 is as follows: 58. The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make Rules consistent with this Act for all or any of the following purposes, namely: *** (d) For requiring the maintenance in mines wherein any women are employed or were employed on any day of the preceding twelve months of suitable rooms to be reserved for the use of children under the age of six years belonging to such women, and for prescribing, either generally or with particular reference to the number of women employed in the mine the number and standards of such rooms, and the nature and extent of the amenities to be provided and the supervision to be exercised therein.