CHILDREN
(PLEDGING OF LABOUR) ACT, 1933
[Act No. 2 of Year 1933]
An
Act to prohibit the pledging of the labour of Children
WHEREAS it is
expedient to prohibit the making of agreements to pledge the labour
of children, and the employment of children whose labour has been
pledged;
It is hereby
enacted as follows: -
Comment: The Act seeks to impose
penalties on parents who enter into agreements pledging the labour
of their children and on the persons who knowingly employ children
whose labour has been pledged.
1. Short
title, extent and commencement
(1) This Act may be called the Children
(Pledging of Labour) Act, 1933.
1[(2) It extends to the whole
of India] 2[***]
(3) This
section and sections 2 and 3 shall come into force at once, and the
remaining sections of this Act shall come into force on the first
day of July, 1933.
2. Definitions
In this Act,
unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-
"an agreement
to pledge the labour of a child" means an agreement, written or
oral, express or implied, whereby the parent or guardian of a child,
in return for any payment or benefit received or to be received by
him, undertakes to cause or allow the services of the child to be
utilised in any employment:
PROVIDED that
any agreement made without detriment to a child, and not made in
consideration of any benefit other than reasonable wages to be paid
for the child's services, and terminable at not more than a week's
notice, is not an agreement within the meaning of this
definition;
"Child" means
a person who is under the age of fifteen years; and "guardian"
includes any person having legal custody of or control over a
child.
3. Agreements contrary to the Act
to be void
An agreement to pledge the labour of a
child shall be void.
4. Penalty for parent or guardian
making agreement to pledge the labour of a child
Whoever, being the parent or guardian of
a child, makes an agreement to pledge the labour of that child,
shall be punished with fine which may extend to fifty rupees.
5. Penalty for making with a
parent or guardian an agreement to pledge the labour of a
child
Whoever makes with the parent or guardian
of a child an agreement whereby such parent or guardian pledges the
labour of the child shall be punished with fine which may extend to
two hundred rupees.
6. Penalty for employing a child
whose labour has been pledged
Whoever, knowing or having reason to
believe that an agreement has been made to pledge the labour of a
child, in furtherance of such agreement employed such child, or
permits such child to be employed in any premises or placed under
his control, shall be punished with fine which may extend to two
hundred rupees.