Chapter VIII OFFENCES AND PENALTIES

Penalty-

1. (1) Whoever contravenes the provisions of this Act or the rules made there under shall be punishable with a fine of ten thousand rupees which may extend to twenty-five thousand rupees.
2. (2) If any person who has been convicted of any offence punishable under sub-section
3. (1) is again found guilty of an offence involving a contravention or failure of compliance of the same provision, he shall be punishable on a subsequent conviction with fine which shall not be less than twenty thousand rupees but which may extend to fifty thousand rupees.

Penalties for Workplace Accidents Caused by Employer’s Violation- Save as is otherwise expressly provided in this Act, where an employer on being held guilty of contravention of any of the provision of this Act or any rules made there under which has resulted in an accident causing serious bodily injury or death of a worker, shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to six months or with fine which shall not be less than two lakh rupees which may be extended to five lakh rupees or both.

Penalty for obstructing Facilitators, etc.-Whoever willfully obstructs a Facilitator in exercise of any powers conferred on him by or under this Act or refuses or willfully neglects to afford the Facilitator any reasonable facility for making any inspection, examination, inquiry or investigation or refuses to produce any register or other document kept in pursuance of this Act or the rules made there under, attempts to prevent any person from appearing before, or being examined by, a Facilitator acting in pursuance of his duties under this Act, shall be punishable with a fine of ten thousand rupees which may extend to twenty-five thousand rupees.

Cognizance of offences-

1. (1) No Court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under this Act and the rules made thereunder unless a complaint in respect thereof is made by the Facilitator within three months of the date on which the alleged commission of the offence came to the knowledge of the Facilitator and a complaint is filed in that regard thereby: Provided that where the offence consists of disobeying a written order made by a Facilitator, complaint thereof may be made within six months of the date on which the offence is alleged to have been committed.
2. (2) Any Judicial Magistrate shall try any offence punishable under this Act or the rules made thereunder.

Compounding of Offences-

1. (1) Notwithstanding, anything contained in this Act or the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 an offence punishable under Sub- section
2. (1) of Section 21 of this Act, may be compounded by an officer, as notified by the State Government on payment of Rs. ten Thousand, in the manner as may be prescribed.
3. (2) If the same offender commits offence Second time, it can be compounded by making payment of Rs. Twenty Thousand, in the manner prescribed. No compounding shall be permissible if same offender commits offence third time.
4. (3) The designated officer referred to in Sub-section
5. (1) shall exercise the powers to compound an offence, subject to direction, control and supervision of State Government.
6. (4) Every application for compounding of an offence shall be made in such form and such manner as may be prescribed.
7. (5) 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 relation to whom the offence is so compounded.
8. (6) Where the composition of any offence is made after the institution of any prosecution, such composition shall be brought by the officer referred to in sub-section
9. (1) in writing, to the notice of the Court in which the prosecution is pending and on such notice of the composition of the offence being given, the person against whom the offence is so compounded shall be discharged.
10. (7) Any person who fails to comply with an order made by the officer referred to in sub-section (1), shall be liable to pay a sum equivalent to twenty per cent of the maximum fine provided for the offence, in addition to such fine.
11. (8) No offence punishable under the provisions of this Act shall be compounded except under and in accordance with the provisions of this section.