The Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961

(1) This Act may be called the MotorTransport Workers Act, 1961. (2) It extends to the whole of India 1* * *. (3) It shall come into force on such date2not being later than the 31st day of March, 1962, as theCentral Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may beappointed for different States. 3[Provided that it shall come into force in the State of Jammu and Kashmir* on the commencement ofthe Central Labour Laws (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Act, 1970.] (4) It applies to every motor transport undertaking employing five or more motor transport workers: Provided that the State Government may, after giving not less than two months' notice of its intentionso to do, by notification in the Official Gazette, apply all or any of the provisions of this Act to any motortransport undertaking employing less than five motor transport workers.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "adolescent" means a person who has completed his 1[fourteenth] year but has not completedhis eighteenth year; (b) "adult" means a person who has completed his eighteenth year; (c) "child" means a person who has not completed his 2[fourteenth] year; (d) "day" means a period of twenty-four hours beginning at midnight: Provided that where a motor transport worker's duty commences before midnight but extendsbeyond midnight, the following day for him shall be deemed to be the period of twenty-four hoursbeginning when such duty ends, and the hours he has worked after midnight shall be counted in theprevious day; (e) "employer" means, in relation to any motor transport undertaking, the person who, or theauthority which, has the ultimate control over the affairs of the motor transport undertaking, andwhere the said affairs are entrusted to any other person whether called a manager, managing director,managing agent or by any other name, such other person; (f) "hours of work" means the time during which a motor transport worker is at the disposal of theemployer or of any other person entitled to claim his services and includes-- (i) the time spent in work done during the running time of the transport vehicle; (ii) the time spent in subsidiary work; and (iii) periods of mere attendance at terminals of less than fifteen minutes; Explanation.--For the purposes of this clause-- (1) "running time" in relation to a working day means the time from the moment a transportvehicle starts functioning at the beginning of the working day until the moment when the transportvehicle ceases to function at the end of the working day, excluding any time during which the runningof the transport vehicle is interrupted for a period exceeding such duration as may be prescribedduring which period the persons who drive, or perform any other work in connection with thetransport vehicle are free to dispose of their time as they please or are engaged in subsidiary work; (2) "subsidiary work" means work in connection with a transport vehicle, its passengers or itsload which is done outside the running time of the transport vehicle, including in particular-- (i) work in connection with accounts, the paying in of cash, the signing of registers, thehanding in of service sheets, the checking of tickets and other similar work; (ii) the taking over and garaging of the transport vehicle; (iii) travelling from the place where a person signs on to the place where he takes over thetransport vehicle and from the place where he leaves the transport vehicle to the place where hesigns off; (iv) work in connection with the upkeep and repair of the transport vehicle; and (v) the loading and unloading of the transport vehicle; (3) "period of mere attendance" means the period during which a person remains at his postsolely in order to reply to possible calls or to resume action at the time fixed in the duty schedule; (g) "motor transport undertaking" means a motor transport undertaking engaged in carryingpassengers or goods or both by road for hire or reward, and includes a private carrier; (h) "motor transport worker" means a person who is employed in a motor transport undertakingdirectly or through an agency, whether for wages or not, to work in a professional capacity on atransport vehicle or to attend to duties in connection with the arrival, departure, loading or unloading of such transport vehicle and includes a driver, conductor, cleaner, station staff, line checking staff,booking clerk, cash clerk, depot clerk, time-keeper, watchman or attendant, but except in section 8does not include-- (i) any such person who is employed in a factory as defined in the FactoriesAct, 1948 (63 of 1948); (ii) any such person to whom the provisions of any law for the time being in force regulatingthe conditions of service of persons employed in shops or commercial establishments apply; (i) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (j) "qualified medical practitioner" means a person having a certificate granted by an authorityspecified in the Schedule to the Indian Medical Degrees Act, 1916 (7 of 1916), or notifiedunder section 3 of that Act or specified in the Schedules to the Indian Medical CouncilAct, 1956 (102 of 1956), and includes any person having a certificate granted under any Provincial orState Medical Council Act; (k) "spread-over" means the period between the commencement of duty on any day and thetermination of duty on that day; (l) "wages" has the meaning assigned to it in clause (vi) of section 2 of the Payment of WagesAct, 1936 (4 of 1936); (m) "week" means the period between midnight on Saturday night and midnight on thesucceeding Saturday night; (n) all other words and expressions used but not defined in this Act and defined in the MotorVehicles Act, 1939 (1 of 1939), shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in that Act.

(1) Every employer of a motor transportundertaking to which this Act applies shall have the undertaking registered under this Act. (2) An application for the registration of a motor transport undertaking shall be made by the employerto the prescribed authority in such form and within such time as may be prescribed. (3) Where a motor transport undertaking is registered under this Act, there shall be issued to theemployer a certificate of registration containing such particulars as may be prescribed. STATE AMENDMENT Uttar Pradesh Amendment of section 3 of Act no. 27 of 1961. In section 3 of the Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961, hereinafter referred to as the principal Act, after sub-section (3), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:- (4) On submission of application in all respect the registering officer shall grant or refuse to grant registration within one day after the date of submission of application in such manner as may be prescribed by the State Government on expiry of the said period the registration shall be deemed to be granted. The Applicant may submit his application on departmental web portal along with necessary documents and payment of fee. If the application is complete in all respect and the applicant is eligible, automatic registration shall be granted by the web portal and registration certificate be sent through e-mail: Provided that if the registration is obtained by misrepresentation of fact or concealment of fact or on the basis of forged document then such registration shall be deemed null and void and may be cancelled by the registering officer and legal action shall be taken against applicant. [Vide Uttar Pradesh Act 12 of 2018, s. 2]

(1) The State Government may, by notification in the OfficialGazette, appoint for the State a duly qualified person to be the chief inspector and as many duly qualifiedpersons to be inspectors subordinate to the chief inspector as it thinks fit. (2) The chief inspector may declare the local limits within which inspectors shall exercise theirpowers under this Act, and may himself exercise the powers of an inspector within such local limits asmay be assigned to him by the State Government. (3) The chief inspector and all inspectors shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning ofsection 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

(1) Subject to such conditions and restrictions as the StateGovernment may by general or special order impose, the chief inspector or an inspector may-- (a) make such examination and inquiry as he thinks fit in order to ascertain whether theprovisions of this Act or rules made thereunder are being observed in the case of any motor transportundertaking, and for that purpose require the driver of a transport vehicle to cause the transportvehicle to stop and remain stationary so long as may reasonably be necessary; (b) with such assistance, if any, as he thinks fit, enter, inspect and search any premises which hehas reason to believe is under use or occupation of any motor transport undertaking at any reasonabletime for the purpose of carrying out the objects of this Act; (c) examine any motor transport worker employed in a motor transport undertaking or require theproduction of any register or other document maintained in pursuance of this Act, and take on thespot or otherwise statements of any person which he may consider necessary for carrying out thepurposes of this Act; (d) seize or take copy of such registers or documents or portions thereof as he may considerrelevant in respect of an offence under this Act which he has reason to believe has been committed byan employer; (e) exercise such other powers as may be prescribed: Provided that no person shall be compelled under this sub-section to answer any question or makeany statement tending to incriminate himself. (2) The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898), shall, so far as may be, applyto any search or seizure under this section as they apply to any search or seizure made under the authorityof a warrant issued under section 98 of the said Code.