Factories Act, 1948
69. Certificates of fitness
(1) A certifying surgeon shall, on the application of any young
person or his parent or guardian accompanied by a document signed by the
manager of a factory that such person will be employed therein if certified to
be fit for work in a factory, or on the application of the manager of the
factory in which any young person wishes to work, examine such person and
ascertain his fitness for work in a factory.
(2) The certifying surgeon, after examination, may grant to such
young person, in the prescribed form, or may renew-
(a) a certificate of fitness to work in a
factory as a child, if he is satisfied that the young person has completed his
fourteenth year, that he has attained the prescribed physical standards and
that he is fit for such work;
(b) a certificate of fitness to work in a
factory as an adult, if he is satisfied that the young person has completed his
fifteenth year, and is fit for a full day's work in a factory:
PROVIDED that unless the certifying surgeon has a
personal knowledge of the place where the young person proposes to work and of
the manufacturing process in which he will be employed, he shall not grant or
renew a certificate under this sub-section until he has examined such place.
(3) A certificate of fitness granted or renewed under
sub-section (2)-
(a) shall be valid only for a period of twelve
months from the date thereof;
(b) may be made subject to conditions in
regard to the nature of the work in which the young person may be employed, or
requiring re-examination of the young person before the expiry of the period of
twelve months.
(4) A certifying surgeon shall revoke any certificate granted or
renewed under sub-section (2) if in his opinion the holder of it is no longer
fit to work in the capacity stated therein in a factory.
(5) Where a certifying surgeon refuses to grant or renew a
certificate or a certificate of the kind requested or revokes a certificate, he
shall, if so requested by any person who could have applied for the certificate
or the renewal thereof, state his reasons in writing for so doing.
(6) Where a certificate under this section with reference to any
young person is granted or renewed subject to such conditions as are referred
to in clause (b) of sub-section (3), the young person shall not be required or
allowed to work in any factory except in accordance with those conditions.
(7) Any fee payable for a certificate under this section shall
be paid by the occupier and shall not be recoverable from the young person, his
parents or guardian.