21. CERTAIN MATTERS TO BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL. - There shall not be included in any report or award under this Act any information obtained by a conciliation officer, Board, Court, Labour Court, Tribunal, National Tribunal or an arbitrator, in the course of any investigation or inquiry as to a trade union or as to any individual business (whether carried on by a person, firm or company) which is not available otherwise than through the evidence given before such officer, Board, Court, Labour Court, Tribunal, National Tribunal or arbitrator, if the trade union, person, firm or company, in question has made a request in writing to the conciliation officer, Board, Court, Labour Court, Tribunal, National Tribunal or arbitrator, as the case may be, that such information shall be treated as confidential; nor shall such conciliation officer or any individual member of the Board, or Court or the presiding officer of the Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal or the arbitrator or any person present at or concerned in the proceedings disclose any such information without the consent in writing of the secretary of the trade union or the person, firm or company in question, as the case may be :

Provided that nothing contained in this section shall apply to a disclosure of any such information for the purposes of a prosecution under section 193 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).