34.(1) Whoever obstructs the Chief Inspector, an Inspector or any person authorised under section 7 in the discharge of his duties under this Act, or refuses or wilfully neglects to afford the Chief Inspector, an Inspector or such person any reasonable facility or making any entry inspection, examination or inquiry authorised by or under this Act in relation to any mine, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred taka, or with both. (2) Whoever refuses to produce on the demand of the Chief Inspector or Inspector any registers or other documents kept in pursuance of this Act, or prevents or attempts to prevent or does anything which he has reason to believe to be likely to prevent, any person from appearing before or being examined by an inspecting officer acting in pursuance of his duties under this Act, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to three hundred taka.

35. Whoever- (a) counterfeits, or knowingly makes a false statement in, any certificate, or any official copy of a certificate, granted under this Act, or (b) knowingly uses as true any such counterfeit of false certificate, or (c) makes or produces or uses any false declaration, statement or evidence knowing the same to be false, for the purpose of obtaining for himself or for any other person a certificate, or the renewal of a certificate, under this Act, or any employment in a mine, or (d) falsifies any plan or register or record the maintenance of which is required by or under this Act, or (e) makes, gives or delivers any plant, return, notice, record or report containing a statement, entry or detail which is not to the best of his knowledge or belief true, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred taka, or with both.

36. Any person who, without reasonable excuse the burden of proving which shall lie upon him, omits to make or furnish in the prescribed form or manner of at or within the prescribed time any plan, return, notice register, record or report required by or under this Act to be made or furnished shall be punishable with fine which may extend to two hundred taka.

37. Whoever, save as permitted by section 25, contravenes any provision of this Act or of any regulation, rule or bye-law or of any order made thereunder prohibiting, restricting or regulating the employment or presence of persons in or about a mine shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred taka.

38.(1) Whoever, in contravention of the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 20, fails to give notice of any accidental occurrence shall, if the occurrence results in serious bodily injury, be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred taka, or, if the occurrence results in loss of life, be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three months or with fine which may extend to five hundred taka, or with both. (2) Whoever in contravention of a direction made by the Government under sub-section (2) of section 20 fails to record in the prescribed register or to give notice of any accidental occurrence shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred taka.

39. Whoever contravenes any provision of this Act or of any regulation, rule or bye-law or of any order made thereunder for the contravention of which no penalty is hereinbefore provided shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand taka, and, in the case of a continuing contravention, with a further fine which may extend to one hundred taka for every day on which the offender is proved to have persisted in the contravention after the date of the first conviction.

40.(1) Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained, whoever contravenes any provision of this Act or of any regulation, rule or bye-law or of any order made thereunder, shall be punishable, if such contravention results in loss of life, with imprisonment which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to two thousand taka, or with both; or, if such contravention results in serious bodily injury, with imprisonment which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand taka, or with both ' or, if such contravention otherwise causes injury or danger to workers or other persons in or about the mine, with imprisonment which may extend to one month, or with fine which may extend to five hundred taka, or with both. (2) Where a person having been convicted under this section is again convicted thereunder, he shall be punishable with double the punishment provided by sub-section (1). (3) Any Court imposing, or confirming in appeal, revision or otherwise, a sentence fine passed under this section may when passing judgment, order the whole or any part of the fine recovered to be paid as compensation to the person injured, or, in the case of his death, to his legal representative: Provided, that if the fine is imposed in a case which is subject to appeal, no such payment shall be made before the period allowed for presenting the appeal has elapsed, or, if an appeal has been presented before the decision of the appeal.

41. No prosecution shall be instituted against any owner, agent or manager for any offence under this Act except at the instance of the Chief Inspector or of the District Magistrate or of an Inspector authorised in this behalf by general or special order in writing by the Chief Inspector.

42. No Court shall take cognizance of any offence under this Act unless complaint thereof has been made within six months of the date on which the offence is alleged to have been committee.

43. No Court inferior to that of a Magistrate of the 1st class shall try any offence under this Act which is alleged to have been committed by any owner, agent or manager of a mine or any offence which is by this Act made punishable with imprisonment.

44.(1) If the Court trying any case instituted at the instance of the Chief Inspector or of the District Magistrate or of an Inspector under this Act is of opinion that the case is one which should, in lieu of a prosecution, be referred to a Mining Board or a Committee, it may stay the criminal proceedings, and report the matter to the Government with a view to such reference being made. (2) On receipt of report under sub-section (1), the Government may refer the case to a Mining Board or a Committee, or may direct the court to proceed with the trial.