A local Jalandhar court on Tuesday penalised Hawkins Cookers Limited CEO Subhadip Dutta Choudhury and his Hoshiarpur factory manager Sandeep Singh Toor with six month jail term for not maintaining the ambulance room for the workers on their factory premises.
The court of chief judicial magistrate also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 each on the CEO Subhadip Dutta Choudhury and manager Sandeep Singh Toor.
Going by the reports, the two were guilty of violating the provisions of Section 45 of the Factories Act, 1948, and Rule 70 of the Punjab Factories Rules, 1952. They also committed the offence punishable under Section 92/94 of the Factories Act, 1948, for compromising the safety of the workers, observed the court, on a complaint of Dwaraka Dass, assistant director, factories, who is now posted as deputy director, factories in Jalandhar.
An inspection conducted by assistant director, directorate of factories, Punjab labour department Ishu Sanghar on December 3, 2015, found irregularities in the factory and the company officials were asked to rectify the shortcomings within three months. However, the company failed to provide facilities to its workers and the inspections team that visited the factory on April 27, 2016, found glaring violations of the Factories Act and the company was penalised.
The orders read that in spite of having more than 500 workers (ordinarily employed), the company has not provided and maintained an ambulance room of prescribed size on their premises and prescribed equipment along with medical and nursing staff in violation of the Factories Act.
