Document Fragment View
Fragment Information
Showing contexts for: construction workers in Piyush Kumar vs State Of Haryana on 28 July, 2022Matching Fragments
This petition under Section 482 Cr.PC has been filed seeking quashing of the Complaint No.Summ-273-2019 dated 04.12.2019 under Sections 47/48/50 of the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 (Annexure P-11, hereinafter known as the Act), summoning order dated 04.12.2019 (Annexure P-12) passed by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gurugram and all subsequent proceedings arising therefrom.
2. The facts of the present case in brief as emanating from this petition are given hereinafter:-
(xiv) As per the agreement, CBRE South Asia Private Limited is said to have completed the interior and fitout work in November 2019, and all construction work came to an end. CBRE South Asia Private Limited deposited an amount of Rs 8,50,000/- as one percent cess payable under the Haryana Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1996 and a cess paid certificate was issued by the Labour Department of the government of Haryana. A copy of the letter dated 25.11.2019 issued by CBRE South Asia Private Limited was appended to the petition and marked as Annexure P-9. A copy of the certificate issued by the Labour Department, Government of Haryana dated 04.02.2020 was appended as Annexure P-10 after which M/S IDP Education India Pvt Ltd. is said to have shifted to the said premises.
10 of 46 CRM-M-41011-2021(O&M) # 11# " (t) Because it has been held by the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in the case of S.N. Subrahmanyam Vs. State in a judgment reported in 2019(1) Crimes 94, inter alia, that
52. Having regard to the statutory scheme and also the stipulations of the contract dated 29.03.2012, there is no escape from the prima facie conclusion that the construction contractor company is not only the principal employer of the workers engaged in the construction project where the fatal accident took place but was also responsible for arranging all the prescribed safety measured under the Rules. Section 47 read with Section 53 of the Building and Construction Workers Act thus creates a corporate criminal liability against the said company and by virtue of the principles of vicarious criminal liability, every person who, at the time when the said offence was committed, was in-charge of, and was responsible to, the said company for the conduct of its business, as well as the company, are deemed to be liable to be proceeded against. Just as in the case of Section 141 of Negotiable Instruments Act, by virtue of the office they hold, such persons as work in the capacity of a managing director or the joint managing director or, for that matter, persons employed as in-charge of the construction work at site, be it in a managerial position or in any supervisory position, are deemed to be in-charge of and responsible for the conduct of the business, to the company. They can, therefore, be proceeded against in terms of Section 53. At the same time, however, merely because a person is a "director" of the company is not sufficient to attract Section 53, there being no deeming that by holding such position he is rendered to be one who is "in-charge of" or "responsible to the company" for the conduct of its business. As is also well settled in the context of 11 of 46 CRM-M-41011-2021(O&M) # 12# prosecutions under the Negotiable Instruments Act, though it is necessary to specifically aver in the complaint that the person sought to be prosecuted was in-charge of or responsible to the company for the conduct of its business "at the time the offence was committed", there is no requirement in law for "further particulars to be given" in the complaint about his role, this being subject matter of proof to be adduced at the trial."
5. This petition came up for hearing before this Court on 4.10.2021 when the following order was passed:-
" Case heard via video conference.
By this petition, the petitioner seeks quashing of complaint bearing no. Summ-273-2019, dated 04.12.2019, alleging therein the commission of offences punishable under the provisions of Sections 47/48/50 of the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, pending in the court of the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gurugram, as also all other subsequent proceedings arising therefrom.