Section 10 – Certifying surgeons & Rule 18 – Duties of Certifying Surgeons

 

Section 10 of Factories Act 1948 – Certifying Surgeon:
1. The State Government may appoint qualified medical practitioners to be Certifying
Surgeon for the purposes of this Act within such local limits or for such factory or class or
description of factories as it may assign to them respectively.
2. A Certifying Surgeon may, with the approval of the State Government, authorize any
qualified medical practitioner to exercise any of his powers under this Act for such period
as the Certifying Surgeon may specify & subject to such conditions as the State
Government may think fit to impose, and references in this Act to a Certifying Surgeon
shall be deemed to include references to any qualified Medical Practitioner when so
authorized.
3. No person shall be appointed to be, or authorized to exercise the powers of, a certifying
surgeon, or having been so appointed or authorized, continue to exercise such powers,
who is or becomes the occupier of a factory or is or becomes directly or indirectly
interested therein or in any process or business carried on therein or in any patient or
machinery connected therewith or is otherwise in the employ of the factory.
[ Provided that the State Government may, by order in writing & subject to such
conditions as me by specified in the order, exempt any person or class of persons from
the provisions of this sub-section in respect of any factory or class or description of
factories.]
4. The Certifying Surgeon shall carry out such duties as may be prescribed in connection
with –
a. The examination & certification of young persons under this Act.
b. The examination of persons engaged in factories in such dangerous occupations or
processes as may be prescribed.
c. The exercising of such medical supervision as may be prescribed for any factory or
class or description of factories where –
i. Cases of illness have occurred which it is reasonable to believe are due to
the nature of the manufacturing process carried on, or other conditions of
work prevailing therein.
ii. By reasons of any changes in the manufacturing process carried on or in the
substances used therein or by reason of the adoption of any new
manufacturing process or of any new substances for use in a manufacturing
process, there is a likelihood of injury to the health of workers employed in
that manufacturing process.
iii. Young persons are, or are about to be, employed in any work which is likely
to cause injury to their health.
Explanation: In this section “qualified medical practitioner” means a person holding a
qualification granted by an authority specified in the Schedule to the Indian Medical Degrees
Act, 1916 (VII of 1916), or in the Schedules to the Indian Medical Council Act, 1933 (XXVII of
1933).

 


(Rule prescribed under sub-section (4) of section 10 of the Factories Act 1948)
Rule 18 (Under Maharashtra Factories Rules 1963):-

Duties of Certifying Surgeon:-
1. For purposes of the examination & certification of young persons who wish to obtain
certificates of fitness, the Certifying Surgeon shall arrange a suitable time & place for the
attendance of such persons, & shall give previous notice in writing of such arrangements
to the managers of factories situated within the local limits assigned to him.
2. The Certifying Surgeon shall issue his certificates in Form 6. The foil & the counterfoil
shall be filled in & the left thumb mark of the person in whose name the certificate is
granted shall be taken on them. On being satisfied as to the correctness of the entries
made therein & on the fitness of the person examined he shall sign the foil & initial the
counterfoil & shall deliver the foil to the person in whose name the certificate is granted.
The foil so delivered shall be the certificate of fitness granted under section 69. All
counter foils shall be kept by the Certifying Surgeon for a period of at least two years
after the issue of the certificate.
3. If a certificate of fitness issued to a young person is lost, on receipt of application for the
grant of duplicate, the Certifying Surgeon, after making such inquiries as he deems fit,
may grant a duplicate thereof. Such application shall be forwarded through the occupier
of the factory where the young person is employed.
4. (a) {A fee of rupees ten} shall be payable for the issue of every certificate of fitness
issued under sub-rule (2) and shall be paid by the occupier.
(b) {A fee of rupees two} shall be payable for the issue of every duplicate of a certificate
issued under sub-rule (2) and shall be paid by the occupier.
5. The Certifying Surgeon shall, upon request by the Chief Inspector, carry out such
examination and furnish him with such report as he may indicate for any factory or class
or description of factories where –
(a) Cases of illness have occurred which it is reasonable to believe are due to the nature
of the manufacturing process carried on, or the conditions of work prevailing therein,
or
(b) By reasons of any change in the manufacturing process carried or in the substances
used therein, or by reason of the adoption of any new manufacturing process or of
any new substance for use in a manufacturing process, there is a likelihood of injury
to the health of workers employed in that manufacturing process,
or
(c) Young persons are, or are about to be employed in any work which is likely to cause
injury to their health.
6. For the purpose of the examination of persons employed in processes covered by the
Rules relating to dangerous operations, the Certifying Surgeon shall visit the factories
within the local limits assigned to him at such intervals as are prescribed by the Rules
relating to dangerous operations.
7. At such visits the Certifying Surgeon shall examine the persons employed in such
processes and shall record the result of his examination in a register known as the
Health Register in Form 7 which shall be kept by the factory manager and produced to
the Certifying Surgeon at each visit.
8. If the Certifying Surgeon finds as a result of his examination that any person employed in
such process is not longer fit for medical reasons to work in that process, he shall
suspend such person from working in that process for such time as he may think fit and
no person after suspension shall be employed in that process without the written
sanction of the Certifying Surgeon in the Health Register.
9. The manager of a factory shall afford to the Certifying Surgeon facilities to inspect any
process in which any person is employed or is likely to be employed.
10. {xxxx}
Under Chapter III – Health
(Exemptions under sub-section (2) of section II
[18-A. Medical examination of workers: All the workers in a factory shall be medically
examined once in a year by a Certifying Surgeon appointed or recognized by the Government
under section 10 of the Act].- Page 14.