Legal provisions regarding Negligent conduct with respect to machinery under section 287 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Negligent conduct with respect to machinery:
“Whoever does, with any machinery, any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life or to be likely to cause hurt or injury to any other person,
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ADVERTISEMENTS:
Or knowingly or negligently omits to take such order with any machinery in his possession or under his care as is sufficient to guard against any probable danger to human life from such machinery, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees or with both. “
Machinery is a combination of mechanical powers designed to increase, regulate or apply motion and force.
Machinery is dangerous to human life if proper precaution is not taken in its working. Section 287 renders any rash or negligent conduct in respect of machinery punishable. If any owner of a machinery compels any person to work in an unsafe condition in a manner likely to endanger human life, he shall be punished under Section 287.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The question what degree of care is required to safeguard against accidents, must then be decided with reference to the nature of the machinery, the amount of technical knowledge required to manage it and the precautionary measures which are useful in such cases.
But the test is not the possibility but the probability of danger which calls for precautionary measures in such cases. An employer putting a wholly incompetent person in charge of machinery may conceivably be guilty of doing a rash act endangering human life.
The offence under Section 287 is non-cognizable, and summons should ordinarily issue in the first instance. It is bailable but not compoundable, and triable by any Magistrate summarily.