INSPECTORS :
Under Section 28 of the Act, appropriate Governments have been given powers to appoint inspectors for the purposes of the Act and to define the local limits within which they shall exercise their powers. Sub-section (2) of Section 28 dealing with powers of Inspectors, read as follows:
(2) Subject to any rules made in this behalf, an inspector may, within the local limits for which he is appointed:
(a) enter, at all reasonable hours, with such assistance (if any), being in the service of the Government or any local or other public authority as he thinks fit, any premises or place where contract labour is employed, for the purpose of examining any register or record or notices required to be kept or exhibited by or under this Act or rules made thereunder, and require the production thereof for inspection;
(b) examine any person whom he finds in any such premises or place and who, he has reasonable cause to believe, is a workmen employed therein;
(c) require any person giving out work and any workmen, to give any information, which is in his powers to give with respect to the names and addresses of the persons to, for an from whom the work is given out or received, and with respect to the payments to be made for the work;
(d) seize or take copies of such register, record of wages or notices or portions thereof as he may consider relevant in respect of an offence under this Act which he has reason to believe has been committed by the principal employer or contractor; and
(e) exercise such other powers as may be prescribed.
Sub-section (3) of Section 28 provides that any person required to produce any document or thing to give any information required by an inspector under Sub-section (2) shall be deemed to be legally bound to do so within the meaning of Section 175 and Section 176 of the Indian Penal Code.
Sub-section (4) lays down that the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall, so far as may be, apply to any search or seizure under Sub-section (2) as they apply to any search or seizure under the authority of a warrant issued under the Code.