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Section 73 of the Factories Act 1948 - Register of Child Workers

Section 73 required the manager of a factory employing children to maintain a register of child workers and prescribed the particulars that had to be recorded. The provision is now of historical and transitional relevance because the Factories Act, 1948 was repealed when the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025.

Updated: 26 September 2026

Current legal position: The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025. Section 143 of that Code repealed the Factories Act, 1948, subject to its savings provisions. For present compliance, the OSHWC Code, applicable rules and the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 should be checked. Section 73 remains relevant when examining rights, liabilities, proceedings or compliance relating to the period when the Factories Act was in force.

Text of Section 73 - Register of child workers

73. Register of child workers.

(1) The manager of every factory in which children are employed shall maintain a register of child workers, to be available to the Inspector at all times during working hours or when any work is being carried on in a factory, showing:

  1. the name of each child worker in the factory;
  2. the nature of his work;
  3. the group, if any, in which he is included;
  4. where his group works on shifts, the relay to which he is allotted; and
  5. the number of his certificate of fitness granted under section 69.

(1A) No child worker shall be required or allowed to work in any factory unless his name and other particulars have been entered in the register of child workers.

(2) The State Government may prescribe the form of the register of child workers, the manner in which it shall be maintained and the period for which it shall be preserved.

Sub-section (1A) was inserted by Act 94 of 1976, section 30, with effect from 26 October 1976.

What Section 73 required

The provision created a record-keeping duty for the manager of a factory in which children were employed under the then applicable statutory framework. The register had to remain available to the Inspector during working hours or whenever work was being carried on.

  • Identity: the name of each child worker had to be entered.
  • Nature of work: the work assigned to the child had to be recorded.
  • Group and shift details: where grouping or relay shifts applied, the relevant particulars had to appear in the register.
  • Fitness certificate: the register had to state the number of the certificate of fitness issued under former Section 69.
  • Entry before work: former sub-section (1A) barred requiring or allowing a child worker to work until the required particulars were entered.

Current law after repeal of the Factories Act

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 is now the principal central enactment consolidating occupational safety, health and working-condition laws for covered establishments. Its Section 143 repealed the Factories Act, 1948 from commencement of the Code. The Code also recognises the separate statutory framework governing adolescents and provides that the working hours of an adolescent worker are regulated in accordance with the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.

Child and adolescent labour law

The Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 uses separate definitions for a child and an adolescent. In general, Section 3 prohibits employment or permitting a child to work in any occupation or process, subject to the limited statutory exceptions stated in that section. Section 3A prohibits employment or permitting an adolescent to work in hazardous occupations or processes specified in the Schedule.

Therefore, the historical wording of former Section 73 should not be read as a present authorisation to employ children in factories. Any current question about employment of a person below eighteen years should be examined under the Child and Adolescent Labour law, the OSHWC Code, applicable rules and any other relevant law.

Why this repealed provision can still matter

Repeal does not make the former text irrelevant for every purpose. Section 143 of the OSHWC Code contains repeal and savings provisions. Questions concerning earlier periods, proceedings, actions, rules, notifications or liabilities may therefore require examination of the Factories Act as it stood at the relevant time together with the applicable savings clause.

Related provisions of the former Factories Act

Section 73 formed part of the former Chapter VII dealing with employment of young persons. It operated alongside Section 71 on working hours for children, Section 72 on notice of periods of work for children and Section 74 on correspondence between hours of work, the notice and the register.

Practical note

This page preserves Section 73 as a legal reference to the repealed Factories Act, 1948. For a current compliance decision, verify the latest Central or State rules and notifications applicable to the establishment and jurisdiction.