The Inspecting Staff :
Appointment: Section 8 empowers the State Government to appoint Inspectors, Additional Inspectors and Chief Inspectors, such persons who possess prescribed qualifications.
Section 8(2) empowers the State Government to appoint any person to be a Chief Inspector. To assist him, the government may appoint Additional, Joint or Deputy Chief Inspectors and such other officers as it thinks fit [Section 8(2A)].
Every District Magistrate shall be an Inspector for his district.
The State Government may appoint certain public officers, to be the Additional Inspectors for certain areas assigned to them [Section 8(5)].
The appointment of Inspectors, Additional Inspectors and Chief Inspector can be made only by issuing a notification in the Official Gazette.
When in any area, there are more inspectors than one, the State Government may by notification in the Official Gazette, declare the powers which such Inspectors shall respectively exercise and the Inspector to whom the prescribed notices are to be sent.
Inspector appointed under the Act is an Inspector for all purposes of this Act. Assignment of local area to an inspector is within the discretion of the State Government.
A Chief Inspector is appointed for the whole State. He shall in addition to the powers conferred on a Chief Inspector under this Act, exercise the powers of an Inspector throughout the State. Therefore, if a Chief Inspector files a complaint, the court can legally take congnizance of an offence. Even assignment of areas under Section 8(6) does not militate in any way against the view that the Chief Inspector can file a complaint enabling the court to take congnizance. The Additional, Joint or Deputy Chief Inspectors or any other officer so appointed shall in addition to the powers of a Chief Inspector, exercise the powers of an Inspector throughout the State.
Powers of Inspectors
Section 9 describes the powers of the Inspectors subject to any rules made in this behalf for the purpose of the Act. An Inspector may exercise any of the following powers within the local limits for which he is appointed:
1. He can enter any place which is used or which, he has reasons to believe, is used as a factory.
2. He can make examination of the premises, plant, machinery, article or substance. Inquire into any accident or dangerous occurrence whether resulting in bodily injury, disability or not, and take on the spot or otherwise statements of any person which he may consider necessary for such inquiry.
3. Require the production of any prescribed register or any other document relating to the factory. Seize, or take copies of any register, record of other document or any portion thereof.
4. Take measurement and photographs and make such recordings as he considers necessary for the purpose of any examination.
5. In case of any article or substance found in any premises, being an article or substance which appears to him as having caused or is likely to cause danger to the health or safety of the workers, direct it to be dismantled or subject it to any process or test (but not so as to damage or destroy it unless the same is in the circumstances necessary, for carrying out the purposes of this Act) and take possession of any such article or substance or a part thereof, and detain it for so long as is necessary for such examination.
Production of documents
The Factories Act requires the maintenance of certain registers and records. Inspectors have been empowered to ask for the production of any such documents maintained under law, and the non-compliance of this has been made an offence.