Sections 95-96 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Sections 95 and 96 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (the OSH Code) protect the inspection machinery. Section 95 punishes a person who wilfully obstructs an Inspector-cum-Facilitator or refuses to produce documents. Section 96 penalises anyone who fails to maintain or file the registers, records and returns the Code requires, or fails to produce them.
Section 95: whoever wilfully obstructs, refuses entry, fails to produce a required document or fails to comply with a requisition or order faces imprisonment up to three months, or a fine up to Rs 1 lakh, or both; for a repeat conviction under the same provision, up to six months, or a fine of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh, or both. Section 96: failing to maintain registers or file returns, or failing to produce them, attracts a penalty of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh, rising to Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh for a repeat.
Sections 95 and 96 at a glance
| First contravention | Repeat (same provision) | |
|---|---|---|
| Section 95(1)-(2) | Imprisonment up to 3 months, or fine up to Rs 1 lakh, or both | Imprisonment up to 6 months, or fine Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh, or both |
| Section 96(1)-(2) | Penalty Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh | Penalty Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh |
Section 95: the four acts of obstruction
Section 95(1) punishes "whoever wilfully" does any of the following, under the Code, rules, regulations or bye-laws:
- Prevents or obstructs a Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator, Inspector-cum-Facilitator, an officer of the appropriate Government or a person authorised to discharge a duty or exercise a power, from doing so.
- Refuses entry to such an officer, or to the person or public authority referred to in clause (i) of section 35(1), or to an expert referred to in section 37, to any place they are entitled to enter.
- Fails or refuses to produce any document he is required to produce.
- Fails to comply with any requisition or order issued to him.
The word wilfully is important. It means a prosecutor must show the conduct was deliberate, so a genuine misunderstanding or a missing file lost in a flood is not the same as a refusal. A record of the facts still helps. The powers of entry and inspection are in section 35; see our section 35 article. Experts for third-party audit are in section 37; see sections 36 and 37.
Penalty. On conviction, imprisonment up to three months, or fine up to Rs 1 lakh, or both (95(1)). Where a person convicted is again convicted under the same provision, imprisonment up to six months, or fine of not less than Rs 1 lakh but up to Rs 2 lakh, or both (95(2)).
If an inspector arrives unannounced, the practical rule is cooperation: let them in, nominate a responsible officer and produce what is asked, noting anything you need time to retrieve. If you think the order is wrong, challenge it through the remedy provided rather than ignoring it. Our legal dispute resolution team can help prepare the response and the route to challenge an order.
Section 96: registers, records and returns
Section 96(1) applies to "any person" required under the Code, rules, regulations, bye-laws or orders to:
- maintain any register or other document or file returns, who omits or fails to do so; or
- produce any register, plan, record, report or other document, who omits or fails to do so.
The penalty is "not less than fifty thousand rupees but which may extend to one lakh rupees". For a second conviction under the same provision, the range becomes Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh (96(2)).
Two differences from section 95 are worth noting. Section 96 does not require wilfulness: the text is "omits or fails". And section 96 is a penalty only, not imprisonment. The duty to maintain registers and file returns comes mainly from section 33; see our article on section 33. The form and the list of registers are prescribed by rules; for Central-sphere establishments, see the Central Rules, 2026, and where the State Government is the appropriate Government, the State's OSH rules apply.
How sections 95 and 96 differ from section 99
Section 99 separately penalises omission to make or furnish in the prescribed form, manner or time any plan, section, return, notice, register, record or report, with a penalty of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. The burden of proving a reasonable excuse lies on the person. Section 96 focuses on omitting to maintain or to produce; section 99 focuses on omitting to furnish in the prescribed form, manner or time. See sections 97 to 99 for that comparison. A single lapse may be argued under more than one section, so check the notice for the section cited.
Who decides and how it ends
Penalty under section 96 is one of the matters for which an officer under section 111 may hold an enquiry and impose the penalty. Section 96 is also listed in section 114 for compounding at fifty per cent of the maximum penalty, but section 95 does not appear in the compounding list in section 114(1). See sections 111 and 112 and sections 113 and 114.
Offences under the Code are tried in court only after the section 110 steps, and a court takes cognizance only on a complaint by the Inspector-cum-Facilitator made within six months of the offence coming to his knowledge; see sections 109 and 110. Criminal procedure references elsewhere in the Code to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 are read today with the BNSS, which replaced it from 1 July 2024.
Example. An inspector asks for the muster roll and the overtime register of a warehouse. The manager says the registers are kept at the head office and does not produce them despite two written requisitions. The employer faces section 95(1)(iii) if the failure is wilful and section 96(1)(ii) for failing to produce, and should expect that the inspector may cite both.
Need help with inspections and registers?
An inspection goes better when registers are current and someone knows how to receive the inspector. Our legal dispute resolution team can advise on responding to requisitions and notices, and on the steps after a complaint is filed.
Key takeaways
- Section 95 punishes wilful obstruction, refusal of entry, non-production of documents and non-compliance with a requisition or order: up to 3 months, fine up to Rs 1 lakh, or both.
- A repeat under section 95 raises it to up to 6 months, a fine of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh, or both.
- Section 96 penalises failing to maintain registers, file returns or produce documents: Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh, and up to Rs 2 lakh on repeat.
- Section 95 needs wilfulness; section 96 does not.
Read next
- Section 94: general penalty for offences
- Sections 97 to 99: contravention, falsification of records and omission to furnish returns
- Section 35: powers of the Inspector-cum-Facilitator
- Registers under the Factories Act: complete list
Disclaimer: Based on the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (as enacted) and, where noted, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 (G.S.R. 345(E), 8 May 2026), as on 30 September 2026. The Code is in force from 21 November 2025; some provisions may be notified later, and State Governments make their own rules for establishments where the State is the appropriate Government. Verify the current position before acting.