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Section 116 of the Factories Act 1948: Application to Government Factories

Section 116 stated that, unless the Act provided otherwise, the Factories Act 1948 applied to factories belonging to the Central Government or a State Government.

Text of Section 116

Meaning and scope of Section 116

Section 116 made the ownership of a factory by the Central Government or a State Government no general ground for exclusion from the Factories Act 1948. Subject to any contrary provision in the Act, a Government-owned factory was covered by the statutory framework in the same manner contemplated by the Act for factories generally.

The opening words, "Unless otherwise provided", were important. They meant that Section 116 operated as the general rule, but another specific provision of the Act could create a different result where the statute expressly so provided.

What Section 116 established

• Government ownership did not itself create an exemption. A factory belonging to the Union or a State Government remained within the Act unless another provision stated otherwise.
• The provision covered both levels of Government. Its text expressly referred to factories belonging to the Central Government and to any State Government.
• It was an application provision. Section 116 did not itself prescribe a separate safety standard, working-hour limit, welfare facility, offence, or penalty.
• Specific provisions still controlled. The phrase "Unless otherwise provided" preserved the effect of any special statutory rule applicable to a particular situation.

Present law after repeal of the Factories Act 1948

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020 is now the principal Central enactment consolidating occupational safety, health, and working-condition laws covered by the Code. The Central Government notified 21 November 2025 as the date on which the provisions of the Code came into force.

Section 143 of the Code repealed the enactments listed in its Third Schedule, which includes the Factories Act 1948. Questions arising after commencement should therefore be examined under the OSHWC Code, the applicable rules, notifications, and any relevant saving or transitional provisions rather than by treating Section 116 as a currently operative provision.