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Section 103 of the Factories Act 1948 - Presumption as to Employment

Section 103 created a rebuttable statutory presumption that a person found in a factory while work was going on or machinery was in motion was employed in that factory, unless the contrary was proved. The provision excluded intervals for meals or rest.

Current legal status The Factories Act, 1948 has been repealed following the commencement of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 on 21 November 2025. This page therefore reproduces and explains former Section 103 for historical reference, interpretation of earlier events and matters preserved by applicable repeal and savings provisions.

Text of former Section 103

If a person is found in a factory at any time, except during intervals for meals or rest, when work is going on or the machinery is in motion, he shall until the contrary is proved, be deemed for the purposes of this Act and the rules made thereunder to have been at that time employed in the factory.

Meaning of Section 103

The provision dealt with proof of employment for the purposes of the Factories Act, 1948 and the rules made under it. Where the statutory circumstances existed, the law permitted employment to be presumed instead of requiring employment to be established independently at the outset.

Person found in the factory: The person had to be found within the factory.
Relevant time: Work had to be going on or machinery had to be in motion at that time.
Meal and rest intervals excluded: The presumption did not arise merely from presence during an interval for meals or rest.
Rebuttable presumption: The words "until the contrary is proved" meant that evidence could be produced to displace the presumption.
Purpose limited by the provision: The deeming rule operated for the purposes of the Factories Act, 1948 and the rules made under it.

Why the presumption mattered

Section 103 was an evidentiary provision intended to address situations in which a person was physically present in a working factory but the fact of employment was disputed. Once the factual conditions stated in the section were established, the statutory presumption operated unless contrary evidence was proved.

Repeal of the Factories Act 1948

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 consolidates occupational safety, health and working-condition laws. Section 143 of that Code provides for repeal of the Factories Act, 1948 and other listed enactments from commencement of the Code. The Code came into force on 21 November 2025.

For a current compliance issue, the applicable provisions of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, the rules and notifications in force, and any relevant savings or transitional provisions should be checked rather than relying on former Section 103 alone.

Official legal sources

Last reviewed: 26 September 2026