CERTIFYING

SURGEON
CERTIFYING SURGEON UNDER FACTORIES ACT 1948
A FACTORY

A factory is a place where some manufacturing

processes are carried out with the involvement
of man, machine, material and money. The four
inputs combined together, processed and some
output is arrived. For example, in a textile
factory, raw cottons are processed by man and
machine together and clothes are produced.
CERTIFYING SURGEON

A Certifying Surgeon is an important part of

the legal corridor of a factory, because he is
a certified medical practitioner who certifies
the fitness of workers of a factory.
MEANING AND DEFINITION OF
CERTIFYING SURGEON
 A certifying surgeon is a practicing medical surgeon who
has many responsibilities under the provisions of the
Factories Act, 1948.
 He provides certificates of fitness to the young or adult
workers which declare them to be fit and fine for the
factory work.
 A factory may involve some hazardous processes and other
dangerous occupation wherein all sorts of workers may not
be fit for such work. So, a certifying surgeon has to take
special scrutiny of the fitness of the workers.
As per the provision of Section 10(1) of the
Factories act, 1948, the State Government may
appoint qualified medical practitioners to be
certifying surgeons for the purposes of this Act
within such local limits or for such factory or class
or description of factories as it may assign to them
respectively.
QUALIFICATION OF A CERTIFYING
SURGEON
Section 10 enumerates some qualifications
of a surgeon to be as a certifying surgeon.
(i) He is appointed by the state government
concerned and he must be a qualified
medical practitioner.
(ii) The certifying surgeon has to work
within the local limits of such factory or
class or description as it may assign to them
respectively.
(iii) The certifying surgeon may delegate his powers
to any qualified medical practitioner if such is
permitted by the state government.
(iv) A certifying surgeon is disqualified to continue
as a certifying surgeon if he becomes an occupier
of the factory, or he acquires any direct or indirect
interest in the factory or in any patent or machine
of the factory, or he becomes an employee of the
factory.
DUTIES OF A CERTIFYING SURGEON

Section 10(4) provides for various duties of a

certifying surgeon. They are discussed below in a
simple language as below:
(i) A certifying surgeon has a duty to examine the
young persons employed or to be employed in a
factory.
(ii) He is dutybound to examine the persons
engaged in any dangerous occupation or processes
in the factory
 (iii) He has to exercise medical supervision when there are cases illness
which might have been occurred due to the nature of manufacturing
processes or the working condition of the factory.
 (iv) He is also dutybound exercise medical supervision when there is
change of any manufacturing processes or adoption of new
manufacturing processes or any substances used therein which is likely
to cause injury to the health of the workers.
 (v) He has the duty to exercise medical exercise when young persons
are, or are about to be, employed in any work which is likely to cause
injury to their health.
POWERS/PROCEDURE TO GRANT
CERTIFICATE
 Section 69 of the Factories Act, 1948 lays the provisions under which he
may grant a certificate of fitness to the young workers. He may exercise
his discretionary powers while granting or renewing such certificates.
The procedure is discussed below:
 (i) The certifying surgeon may examine the fitness of a young person.
The application may be made by the young person himself or by his
parents or guardian accompanied by a document to be signed by the
manager of the factory. He may also examine a young person’s fitness if
requested by the manager of the factory.
(ii) After examination, the certificate of fitness has
to be granted or renewed in a prescribed form. He
certifies the applicant as a child if the applicant
attains the age of fourteen, in his consideration and
the applicant is fit for such work. He can certify the
applicant as adult if the applicant has attained the
age of fifteen, in his consideration and the applicant
is physically fit for full day’s work.
 (iii) The certificate so granted or renewed shall have a validity of twelve
months and may be subjected to such conditions which are to be
ascertained according to the nature of the work.
 (iv) The certifying surgeon may refuse to grant or revoke such granted
or renewed certificate when he believes that the person is no more fit
for work. He shall be obliged to inform the reason for such refusal or
revocation in writing on request of the applicant.
(v) On grant or renewal of certificate, the young
person shall not be required or allowed to work in
any factory except according to the condition of
the certificate.
(vi) The fee of certificate or examination is to be
paid by the occupier but not by the young person.