Chapter VIII INSPECTING STAFF

(1) The Central Government may, by notification, appoint a Gazetted Officer of that Government to be the Director-General of Inspection who shall be responsible for laying down the standards of inspection and shall also exercise the powers of an Inspector throughout India in relation to all the establishments for which the Central Government is the appropriate Government. (2) The State Government may, by notification, appoint a Gazetted Officer of that Government to be the Chief Inspector of Inspection of Building and Construction who shall be responsible for effectively carrying out the provisions of this Act in the State and shall also exercise the powers of an Inspector under this Act throughout the State in relation to establishments for which the State Government is the appropriate Government. (3) The appropriate Government may, by notification, appoint such number of its officers as it thinks fit to be Inspectors for the purposes of this Act and may assign to them such local limits as it may think fit. (4) Every Inspector appointed under this section shall be subject to the control of the Director-General or the Chief Inspector, as the case may be, and shall exercise his powers and perform his functions under this Act subject to general control and supervision of the Director-General or the Chief Inspector. (5) The Director-General, the Chief Inspector and every Inspector shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

(1) Subject to any rules made in this behalf, an Inspector may, within the local limits for which he is appointed,— (a) enter, at all reasonable hours, with such assistants (if any) being persons in the service of the Government or any local or other public authority as he thinks fit, any premises or place where building or other construction work is carried on, for the purpose of examining any register or record or notices required to be kept or exhibited by or under this Act, and require the production thereof for inspection; (b) examine any person whom he finds in any such premises or place and who, he has reasonable cause to believe, is a building worker employed therein; (c) require any person giving out building or other construction work to any building worker, to give any information, which is in his power to give with respect to the names and addresses of the persons to, for and whom the building or other construction work is given out or received, and with respect to the payments to be made for the building or other construction work; (d) seize or take copies of such register, record of wages or notices or portions thereof as he may consider relevant in respect of an offence under this Act which he has reason to believe has been committed by the employer; and (e) exercise such other powers as may be prescribed. (2) For the purposes of this section, the Director-General or the Chief Inspector, as the case may be, may employ experts or agencies having such qualifications and experience and on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed. (3) Any person required to produce any document or to give any information required by an Inspector under sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be legally bound to do so within the meaning of section 175 and section 176 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860). (4) The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), shall, so far as may be, apply to such search or seizure under sub-section (1) as they apply to any search or seizure made under the authority of a warrant issued under section 94 of the said Code.