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Section 102: Onus as to age

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (Act No. 37 of 2020) • Official Statutory Text & Plain English Practice Guide

Statutory Mandate
Chapter XI: Offences and Penalties
Competent Labour Forum
Act No. 37 of 2020
Section 101 All 143 Sections of OSH Code, 2020 Section 103

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 102

Section 102 of the OSH Code is the general penal provision prescribing fines up to three lakh rupees, and imprisonment up to two years for offenses causing death or serious bodily injury.

  • Penal Consequences & Liability: Section 102 establishes the general criminal penalty framework under the OSH Code.
  • Sub-Section (1) Provision: Under sub-section (1), any person who contravenes any provision of this Code or any rule, regulation, or order made thereunder, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees, and in case of a continuing contravention, with an additional fine up to two thousand rupees per day.
  • Sub-Section (2) Provision: Under sub-section (2), where the contravention results in an accident causing death or serious bodily injury to any person, the employer or manager shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which shall not be less than two lakh rupees (extendable to five lakh rupees), or with both.

A portion of the fine may be awarded as compensation to the victim or their heirs.

Key Landmark Precedents:
  • M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (Oleum Gas Leak case) (1987) 1 SCC 395: The Supreme Court affirmed that industrial enterprises are strictly and absolutely liable to maintain safety standards, holding that penal sanctions for workplace fatalities are essential to enforce corporate safety compliance.
  • Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India (1984) 3 SCC 161: The Supreme Court held that workplace safety failures causing death or bodily injury violate the constitutional guarantee of life under Article 21, warranting unyielding penal enforcement against defaulting managements.
Legal Commentary:

Section 102 represents a dramatic escalation in corporate safety penalties. Under previous law (Factories Act, 1948), fines were nominal; under Section 102, workplace fatalities expose plant heads, directors, and safety managers to mandatory minimum fines of ₹2 lakhs and direct criminal imprisonment.

Section 101 All 143 Sections of OSH Code, 2020 Section 103