Labour Hub › OSHWC Code › Sections › Section 69

Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 · XI

Section 69: Exemption from provision regarding employment

Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 30 August 2026

Section 69 — Governs exemption from provision regarding employment and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: (1) In case of an emergency involving serious risk to the safety of the mine or of persons employed therein, or in case of an accident, whether actual or apprehended, or in case of any act of God or in case of any urgent work…

Full official textSource checked: 20 August 202670 direct Central Rule link(s)

Current-law status

All provisions were brought into force from 21 November 2025 under S.O. 5321(E), subject to the Central/State appropriate-Government split and provision-specific appointments/notifications.

Primary sources

Provision / India Code ↗ · Official Act PDF ↗ · 2026 Central Rules ↗

Finin2min analysis — what the section actually does

Operative clauses

(1) In case of an emergency involving serious risk to the safety of the mine or of persons employed therein, or in case of an accident, whether actual or apprehended, or in case of any act of God or in case of any urgent work to be done to machinery, plant or equipment of the mine as a result of breakdown of such machinery plant or equipment, the manager may, subject to the provision of clause (B) of sub-section…
Provided that in case of any urgent work to be done to machinery, plant or equipment under this section, the manager may take the action permitted by this section, although the production of mineral would thereby be incidentally affected, but any action so taken shall not exceed the limits necessary for the purpose of avoiding serious interference with the ordinary working of the mine.
(2) Every case in which action has been taken by the manager under sub-section (1), shall be recorded together with the circumstances relating thereto and a report thereof shall also be made to the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator or the Inspector-cum-Facilitator.

Provisos, explanations & qualifications

Provided that in case of any urgent work to be done to machinery, plant or equipment under this section, the manager may take the action permitted by this section, although the production of mineral would thereby be incidentally affected, but any action so taken shall not exceed the limits necessary for the purpose of avoiding serious interference with…

Thresholds and timelines in the text

Exemption from provision regarding employment.—(1) In case of an emergency involving serious risk to the safety of the mine or of persons employed therein, or in case of an accident, whether actual or apprehended, or in case of any act of God or in case of any urgent work to be done to machinery, plant or equipment of the mine as a result of breakdown of…

Actors expressly appearing in the text

Inspector-cum-Facilitator

Full statutory text — Section 69

Official English text transcribed from the current India Code consolidation; page headers/line breaks are normalised for web reading. The Gazette/India Code PDF remains authoritative for typography, amendment footnotes and schedules.

69. Exemption from provision regarding employment.—(1) In case of an emergency involving
serious risk to the safety of the mine or of persons employed therein, or in case of an accident, whether
actual or apprehended, or in case of any act of God or in case of any urgent work to be done to machinery,
plant or equipment of the mine as a result of breakdown of such machinery plant or equipment, the
manager may, subject to the provision of clause (B) of sub-section (1) of section 38 and in accordance
with the provisions of section 25 relating to exemption from hours of work above ground, hours of work
below ground and notification regarding hours of work and weekly day of rest relating to mines under
section 26, permit persons to be employed in contravention of sections 25 and 30 and sub-section (1) of
section 31 on such work as may be necessary to protect the safety of the mine or of the persons employed
therein:
   Provided that in case of any urgent work to be done to machinery, plant or equipment under this
section, the manager may take the action permitted by this section, although the production of mineral
would thereby be incidentally affected, but any action so taken shall not exceed the limits necessary for
the purpose of avoiding serious interference with the ordinary working of the mine.

   (2) Every case in which action has been taken by the manager under sub-section (1), shall be recorded
together with the circumstances relating thereto and a report thereof shall also be made to the Chief
Inspector-cum-Facilitator or the Inspector-cum-Facilitator.

How to apply this provision

Primary statutory test — (1) In case of an emergency involving serious risk to the safety of the mine or of persons employed therein, or in case of an accident, whether actual or apprehended, or in case of any act of God or in case of any urgent work to be done to machinery, plant or equipment of the mine as a result of breakdown of such machinery plant or equipment, the manager may, subject to the provision of clause (B) of sub-section…
Additional operative limb — Provided that in case of any urgent work to be done to machinery, plant or equipment under this section, the manager may take the action permitted by this section, although the production of mineral would thereby be incidentally affected, but any action so taken shall not exceed the limits necessary for the purpose of avoiding serious interference with the ordinary working of the mine.
Qualification / exception to test — Provided that in case of any urgent work to be done to machinery, plant or equipment under this section, the manager may take the action permitted by this section, although the production of mineral would thereby be incidentally affected, but any action so taken shall not exceed the limits necessary for the purpose of avoiding serious interference with…
Numerical or timing control — Exemption from provision regarding employment.—(1) In case of an emergency involving serious risk to the safety of the mine or of persons employed therein, or in case of an accident, whether actual or apprehended, or in case of any act of God or in case of any urgent work to be done to machinery, plant or equipment of the mine as a result of breakdown of…
Central Rule mapping — 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176. Read the mapped provision together with this text rather than treating the concordance as a substitute for it.
Evidence file — retain facts and records proving the role/status of: Inspector-cum-Facilitator.

Why this is section-specific: the operative-clause, exception, threshold and cross-reference panels above are extracted from Section 69 itself rather than a generic “trigger/control/evidence” template.

Rules, forms and cross-references

Forms mapped

No prescribed form is directly mapped in the current concordance.

Other sections cited in this text

Section 38 Section 25 Section 26 Section 31

Related Labour Hub resources

State overlays Forms Labour litigation

A direct concordance is not exhaustive. Central/State jurisdiction, schemes, authority appointments, saved instruments and later notifications may change the practical route without changing the section wording.

Worked example

When an event triggers exemption from provision regarding employment, record the trigger date, competent authority, prescribed rule/form, filing or decision step, service/acknowledgement and final outcome. A statutory point to test is: “Exemption from provision regarding employment.—(1) In case of an emergency involving serious risk to the safety of the mine or of persons employed therein, or in case of an accident, whether actual or apprehended, or in case of any act of God or in case of any urgent work to be d” Also test the express qualification/proviso before concluding the result. Read the mapped Central Rule(s) 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176.

Illustration only; it is not statutory text or a substitute for applying the actual facts, jurisdiction, current rule/scheme and official instrument.

Q&A — Section 69

What does Section 69 of the OSHWC Code cover?

What is the main legal requirement or power in Section 69?

The first operative clause identified from the official text is: “(1) In case of an emergency involving serious risk to the safety of the mine or of persons employed therein, or in case of an accident, whether actual or apprehended, or in case of any act of God or in case of any urgent work to be done to machinery, plant or equipment of the mine as a result of breakdown of such machinery plant or equipment, the manager may, subject to the provision of clause (B) of sub-section…” Read it with the remaining subsections and any proviso below.

Does Section 69 contain a proviso or explanation?

Yes. A qualification extracted from the official text is: “Provided that in case of any urgent work to be done to machinery, plant or equipment under this section, the manager may take the action permitted by this section, although the production of mineral would thereby be incidentally affected, but any action so taken shall not exceed the limits necessary for the purpose of avoiding serious interference with…”

What time limit, percentage or amount appears in Section 69?

The provision contains this numerical/time expression: “Exemption from provision regarding employment.—(1) In case of an emergency involving serious risk to the safety of the mine or of persons employed therein, or in case of an accident, whether actual or apprehended, or in case of any act of God or in case of any urgent work to be done to machinery, plant or equipment of the mine as a result of breakdown of…” Apply it only in the clause and context in which it appears.

Which 2026 Central Rules are linked to Section 69?

The current concordance maps Section 69 to Central Rule(s) 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176.

Is Section 69 currently operative?

All provisions were brought into force from 21 November 2025 under S.O. 5321(E), subject to the Central/State appropriate-Government split and provision-specific appointments/notifications.

Source & verification trail

Act: Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 — official India Code PDF ↗

Central Rules: Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 — G.S.R. 345(E), 8 May 2026 ↗

Official library: Ministry of Labour & Employment — Labour Codes ↗

Source check: 20 August 2026. Individual professional interpretation should be re-reviewed when the section, rules, notification, scheme, State overlay or controlling judgment changes.

Reliance note: This page is an educational legal-reference layer. Verify the current official text, the applicable Central/State rules, notifications, schemes and judicial decisions before acting on a live matter.

Current-law decision checkpoint

Current-law checkpoint: the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 is shown on India Code with an enforcement date of 21 November 2025. For any Section 69 exemption or relaxation analysis, do not stop at the section text: identify the appropriate Government, the establishment/mine category, the exact Gazette/order relied on, its conditions, duration and any later amendment, withdrawal or supersession.

Keep a copy of the operative Gazette/order with the compliance file.
Separate the Code power from the conditions imposed by the specific exemption order.
Check the applicable Central/State rules and sector regulator/DGMS material where relevant.
Do not treat a historical exemption under a repealed enactment as automatically continuing without a savings/current-law check.

Primary source: India Code — OSHWC Code, 2020.