Violation of provisions of Factories Act.
Chennai : One of Mumbai’s well-known businessman Ness Wadia, fearing prosecution for alleged violation of the provisions of the Factories Act, has approached the Madras High Court seeking to quash an order of the Inspector of Factories in Ooty, a picturesque hill station in western Tamil Nadu.
In his petition, Wadia said that he was appointed the Managing Director of the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation (BBTC) by its board in 2016. His appointment was duly intimated to the Inspector of Factories in August that year and the mandatory mutation records were also executed.
However, last July, the Deputy Director of Industrial Safety and Health – who is the designated Inspector of Factories in Ooty – inspected the company’s tea factory at Dunsandle Tea Estates and issued him a show cause notice in August last listing out six violations under the Factories Act. The notice accused the BBTC of not intimating the change in management (his appointment as MD).
According to Wadia, the official also accused the company of culpability in the injury of a workman and installing machines sans licence. While the BBTC responded to these allegations, none of these were recorded in the inspection report.
Therefore, he prayed the court to quash the official’s show cause notice so that he can be spared the stigma of prosecution.
Justice M Duraiswamy before whom the petition came up for hearing on Tuesday issued notice to the Inspector of Factories returnable in four weeks.