Section 97: Punishment for contravention of certain provisions
Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 30 August 2026
Section 97 — Governs punishment for contravention of certain provisions and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: (1) Any person, who, save as permitted by or under this Code, contravenes, any— (i) provision of this Code or of any rule, regulation or bye-laws; or (ii) order made under this Code prohibiting, restricting or regulating the…
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.
Provision / India Code ↗ · Official Act PDF ↗ · 2026 Central Rules ↗
Finin2min analysis — what the section actually does
Operative clauses
- (1) Any person, who, save as permitted by or under this Code, contravenes, any— (i) provision of this Code or of any rule, regulation or bye-laws; or (ii) order made under this Code prohibiting, restricting or regulating the employment of workers including women, audio-visual worker and contract labour and employee below eighteen years of age in case of mines, he shall be liable to penalty which shall not be less…
- (2) Where any person convicted of an offence punishable under sub-section (1) is again convicted of an offence under the same provision, then, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees, or with both.
Provisos, explanations & qualifications
- No proviso/explanation was separately extracted from this section text.
Thresholds and timelines in the text
- Punishment for contravention of certain provisions.—(1) Any person, who, save as permitted by or under this Code, contravenes, any— (i) provision of this Code or of any rule, regulation or bye-laws; or (ii) order made under this Code prohibiting, restricting or regulating the employment of workers including women, audio-visual worker and contract labour…
- (2) Where any person convicted of an offence punishable under sub-section (1) is again convicted of an offence under the same provision, then, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees, or with both.
Actors expressly appearing in the text
Employee / worker, Worker
Full statutory text — Section 97
97. Punishment for contravention of certain provisions.—(1) Any person, who, save as permitted
by or under this Code, contravenes, any—
(i) provision of this Code or of any rule, regulation or bye-laws; or
(ii) order made under this Code prohibiting, restricting or regulating the employment of workers
including women, audio-visual worker and contract labour and employee below eighteen years of age
in case of mines,
he shall be liable to penalty which shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees but which may extend to
one lakh rupees.
(2) Where any person convicted of an offence punishable under sub-section (1) is again convicted of
an offence under the same provision, then, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which
may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees, or with both.How to apply this provision
- Primary statutory test — (1) Any person, who, save as permitted by or under this Code, contravenes, any— (i) provision of this Code or of any rule, regulation or bye-laws; or (ii) order made under this Code prohibiting, restricting or regulating the employment of workers including women, audio-visual worker and contract labour and employee below eighteen years of age in case of mines, he shall be liable to penalty which shall not be less…
- Additional operative limb — (2) Where any person convicted of an offence punishable under sub-section (1) is again convicted of an offence under the same provision, then, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees, or with both.
- Numerical or timing control — Punishment for contravention of certain provisions.—(1) Any person, who, save as permitted by or under this Code, contravenes, any— (i) provision of this Code or of any rule, regulation or bye-laws; or (ii) order made under this Code prohibiting, restricting or regulating the employment of workers including women, audio-visual worker and contract labour…
- Central Rule mapping — 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182. 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: Employee / worker, Worker.
Rules, forms and cross-references
Forms mapped
No prescribed form is directly mapped in the current concordance.
Other sections cited in this text
Related Labour Hub resources
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
For an establishment affected by punishment for contravention of certain provisions, the compliance owner should identify the applicable sector and authority, document the prescribed control/notice/record and retain inspection or training evidence. A text point to test is: “Punishment for contravention of certain provisions.—(1) Any person, who, save as permitted by or under this Code, contravenes, any— (i) provision of this Code or of any rule, regulation or bye-laws; or (ii) order made under this Code prohibiting, restricting or regulating the emp” Read the mapped Central Rule(s) 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182.
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 97
What does Section 97 of the OSHWC Code cover?
Section 97 — Governs punishment for contravention of certain provisions and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: (1) Any person, who, save as permitted by or under this Code, contravenes, any— (i) provision of this Code or of any rule, regulation or bye-laws; or (ii) order made under this Code prohibiting, restricting or regulating the…
What is the main legal requirement or power in Section 97?
The first operative clause identified from the official text is: “(1) Any person, who, save as permitted by or under this Code, contravenes, any— (i) provision of this Code or of any rule, regulation or bye-laws; or (ii) order made under this Code prohibiting, restricting or regulating the employment of workers including women, audio-visual worker and contract labour and employee below eighteen years of age in case of mines, he shall be liable to penalty which shall not be less…” Read it with the remaining subsections and any proviso below.
Does Section 97 contain a proviso or explanation?
No standalone proviso or explanation was extracted from this section text. Check the full text below for clause-level qualifications.
What time limit, percentage or amount appears in Section 97?
The provision contains this numerical/time expression: “Punishment for contravention of certain provisions.—(1) Any person, who, save as permitted by or under this Code, contravenes, any— (i) provision of this Code or of any rule, regulation or bye-laws; or (ii) order made under this Code prohibiting, restricting or regulating the employment of workers including women, audio-visual worker and contract labour…” Apply it only in the clause and context in which it appears.
Which 2026 Central Rules are linked to Section 97?
The current concordance maps Section 97 to Central Rule(s) 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182.
Is Section 97 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.