Section 41 of the Factories Act 1948: Power to Make Rules to Supplement the Safety Chapter
Section 41 empowered the State Government to prescribe additional safety devices and measures for factories where further protection of persons employed was considered necessary. The provision formed part of Chapter IV on safety under the Factories Act, 1948.
Text of Section 41 of the Factories Act, 1948
41. Power to make rules to supplement this Chapter. The State Government may make rules requiring the provision in any factory or in any class or description of factories of such further devices and measures for securing the safety of persons employed therein as it may deem necessary.
Historical amendment note: The words "devices and measures" were substituted for the word "devices" with effect from 26 October 1976.
Meaning and scope of Section 41
Section 41 was an enabling rule-making provision. It did not itself prescribe a particular machine guard, protective device or safety procedure. Instead, it authorised the State Government to make rules requiring additional safety arrangements in a factory, or in a specified class or description of factories, when such measures were considered necessary to protect persons employed there.
- Rule-making authority: The power was vested in the State Government.
- Factories covered: Rules could apply to an individual factory or to a class or description of factories.
- Purpose: The statutory purpose was to secure the safety of persons employed in factories.
- Supplementary character: The provision allowed safety requirements to be added to the specific protections already contained in Chapter IV of the Factories Act.
Relationship with the safety provisions of the Factories Act
Section 41 followed provisions dealing with machinery, hoists and lifts, pressure plants, floors and access, dangerous fumes and gases, fire precautions, safety of buildings and machinery, maintenance of buildings and safety officers. Its function was to provide flexibility for additional safety rules where the express provisions of the Chapter were not sufficient for a particular factory, process or class of factories.
The following provisions, beginning with Section 41A, formed Chapter IVA dealing specifically with hazardous processes.
Current law under the OSHWC Code, 2020
The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 now provides the central statutory framework for occupational safety, health and working conditions. The Code came into force on 21 November 2025. It consolidates legislation including the Factories Act, 1948, and section 143 contains repeal and savings provisions.
For present compliance, employers, occupiers and factories should read the applicable provisions of the OSHWC Code together with rules, standards, notifications and other legally saved requirements that apply to the establishment and the relevant State or Union Territory. Historical Section 41 should not be treated as the current standalone source of rule-making power.
Official legal sources
Practical note
This page explains the former Section 41 and its place in the historical Factories Act framework. For a current compliance question, the applicable OSHWC Code provisions and the rules or notifications in force for the relevant jurisdiction and establishment should be checked before relying on an older Factories Act provision.