Child Labour Act 1986

Subsequently, a number of Commissions and Committees the Whiltelly Commission in 1929, the Rege Committee in 1944 and the Gurupadaswamy Committee of 1979 – recommended laws to regulate child lablour. Based on these recommendations the Government of India passed the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, a fairly comprehensive piece of legislation. The salient features of this Act are summarized below;
 Defines “child” as a person who has not completed 14 years of age.
 Prohibits the employment of children below 14 years in specified occupations and processes.
 Lays down a procedure to make additions to the schedule of prohibited occupations or processes.
 Regulates the working conditions of children’s of children in

Children (Pledging and Labour) Act (1933): Restricts acceptance of advances by parents in returns for bonds (like bonded labour). Deems any such contract (Bonded Labour) as void if lalbour involved is below 15 years.
The Indian Factories Act (1934): Prohibits the employlment of childen below 12 years and restricts working hours for children between 12 and 14 years to 5 hours daily.
The Indian Mines Act (1935): Introduces age groups for children. Raises minimum age limits to 15 years. Necessitates the production of a physical fitness from qualified medical practitioner for children between 15 and 17 years. Restricts working hours to 10 hours dailyl and 54 hours weekly for those working on ground, and for those working underground to 9 hours pser day.
The Employment of Children Act (1938): Prohibits employment of children for transport of passenger goods and mail byl rail or handling goods at docks or wharves.
The Minimum Wages Act (1948): Defines child as person below 14 years of age. Appropriates minimum wages for adults, adolescents and children. Fixes normal working hours for children at 4-1/2 hours daily, and, Prohibits overtime for

It assumes that a poorly staffed and ill-equipped bureaucracy will be able to ensure that children do not work in hazardous processes and occupations and regulate the conditions of work in non-hazardous settings. The bureaucracy will also be able to determine whether a child is working in a non-hazardous process in a hazardous occupation. Again, under the law, the employer is supposed to notify the Labour Department of any children working in the establishment. This is akin to asking the murderer to report the crime. Also, the onus of proving that a child is under-age lies with the prosecutor and not the