TMI Blog2014 (3) TMI 1072X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rised to act on behalf of the owner in respect of the management, control, supervision or direction of a mine. There is nothing on record to show that any such statement was furnished by the owner of the mine to the Chief Inspector or the Regional Inspector appointed under the Act. Only a person who is authorised to act on behalf of the owner or purports to act on behalf of the owner may be deemed to be an Agent. In the absence of any statement having been made or any indication having been given by the owner enabling G.N. Verma to act or purport to act on his behalf, it cannot be said that he was a deemed Agent for the mine. The word 'mine' has been defined in Section 2 (j) of the Act and it has no reference to any administrative functions in relation to a mine but only technical matters related thereto.[5] G.N. Verma was the Chief General Manager of the Karkata Colliery and it is not possible to assume that apart from performing administrative duties, he was also involved in technical matters related to the mine having the Bukbuka seam. On the facts of this case, we would need to unreasonably stretch the law to include G.N. Verma as a person vicariously responsible for the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... realities concerning our criminal justice delivery system. The principal question for consideration is whether cognizance of the criminal complaint taken by the Chief Judicial Magistrate against the appellant G.N. Verma deserves to be set aside in the absence of any allegation made against him in the complaint. A related question is whether the appellant G.N. Verma could be described as a 'deemed Agent' of the owner of the Karkata Colliery in which an unfortunate fatal incident took place on or about 9th March 2000. In our opinion, the answer to the first question must be in the affirmative, while the related question must be answered in the negative. The facts on 15th December 1999 an order was issued by the Director of Mines Safety, Ranchi Region in Ranchi under Section 22A (2) of the Mines Act, 1952 (for short the Act).[1] The order related to the failure of the Agent, Karkata Colliery to rectify certain defects, despite time having been granted, in the Bishrampur and Bukbuka seams. Accordingly, by virtue of the order the Chief Inspector of Mines prohibited the employment of persons for extraction of coal from the extended Block B of the Bukbuka seam till the defects ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ct required further consideration and, therefore, referred the matter to the Division Bench for further consideration. The Division Bench took up the matter for hearing and by its judgment and order dated 19th September 2002 (impugned) came to the conclusion that the definition of Agent as occurring in the Act prior to its amendment in 1983 had been substantially widened to include every person acting or purporting to act on behalf of the owner of a mine and taking part in the management, control, supervision or direction of any mine or any part thereof. Consequently, the law laid down in Sinha was no longer applicable. The definition of Agent appearing in Section 2(c) of the Act prior to its amendment and subsequent to its amendment reads as follows: 2(c) agent , when used in relation to a mine, means any individual, whether appointed as such or not, who acts as the representative of the owner in respect of the management, control and direction of the mine or of any part thereof and as such is superior to a manager under this Act. After its amendment, Section 2(c) of the Act reads as follows: 2(c) agent , when used in relation to a mine, means every person whether ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r direction of the mine. 2) The statement shall also show the responsibilities of every such person and the matters in respect of which he is authorized to act on behalf of the owner. 3) Every such person shall be deemed to be an agent for the mine or group of mines, as the case may be, in respect of the responsibilities as specified in such statement. 4) The statement aforesaid shall be submitted within one month from the date of coming into force of the Coal Mines (Amendment) Regulation 1985, in case of mines already opened, or reopened as the case may be, and in other cases within one month from the date of opening of the mine. 5) Any change, addition or alteration in the names or other particulars of aforesaid statement shall be reported in writing to the Chief Inspector and the Regional Inspector within seven days from the date of change, addition or alteration. Discussion It is true that Agent has an extended meaning in the Act. It not only brings within its fold a person who is appointed as an Agent in relation to a mine but also brings within its fold a person not appointed as an Agent but who acts or purports to act on behalf of the owner of the mine and takes par ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt is concerned, it does not contain any allegation against G.N. Verma. The only statement concerning him is that he was the Chief General Manager/deemed Agent of the mine and was exercising supervision, management and control of the mine and in that capacity was bound to see that all mining operations were conducted in accordance with the Act, the rules, regulations, orders made thereunder. In the face of such a general statement, which does not contain any allegation, specific or otherwise, it is difficult to hold that the Chief Judicial Magistrate rightly took cognizance of the complaint and issued summons to G.N. Verma. The law laid down by this Court in Harmeet Singh Paintal (though in another context) would be squarely applicable. Under the circumstances, we are of the opinion that on the facts of this case and given the absence of any allegation in the complaint filed against him no case for proceeding against G.N. Verma has been made out. The other remaining question would be whether G.N. Verma could be deemed to be an Agent of the mine. Regulation 8 -A of the Coal Mines Regulations requires the owner of a mine to submit in writing a statement showing the name and desig ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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