[{"id":397798,"date":"2026-10-04T11:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T05:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=397798"},"modified":"2026-10-03T17:35:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T12:05:15","slug":"2026-scc-vol-7-part-5-latest-supreme-court-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/10\/04\/2026-scc-vol-7-part-5-latest-supreme-court-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 SCC Vol. 7 Part 5: Key Supreme Court Cases on Constitution, GST, Criminal Law and more"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This volume of the Supreme Court Cases (SCC), Part 5 of Volume 7, embodies landmark cases decided by the Supreme Court on issues such as rejection of plaint, mandatory compliance with the RTE Act and TET, GST exemption on hostel rentals, admissibility of electronic evidence, and custody of minor children.<\/p>\n

\n

Constitution of India<\/a> — Art. 227<\/a> — Rejection of plaint by High Court exercising power under Art. 227<\/a> of the Constitution<\/a> — Permissibility:<\/span> As specific provisions under Or. 7 R. 11<\/a> and Or. 6 R. 16<\/a> CPC<\/a> are available therefor, High Court cannot exercise powers under Art. 227 to reject or strike off plaint, [P. Suresh v. D. Kalaivani<\/span>, (2026) 7 SCC 644<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Constitution of India<\/a> — Arts. 21-A<\/a>, 30(1)<\/a>, 14<\/a>, 19<\/a>, 21<\/a> & 45<\/a> and Art. 142<\/a> — Mandatory compliance with RTE Act and Teachers Eligibility Test (TET):<\/span> The provisions of the RTE Act, held, to be complied with by all schools as defined in S. 2(n) of the RTE Act, except the schools established and administered by minorities, whether religious or linguistic, till such time the reference made herein to a larger Bench, is decided and subject to the answers to the questions formulated herein. Mandatory compliance with RTE Act and Teachers Eligibility Test (TET), principles clarified and transition plan, directed, [Anjuman Ishaat-E-Taleem Trust v. State of Maharashtra<\/span>, (2026) 7 SCC 690<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Evidence Act, 1872<\/a> — Ss. 3<\/a> to 5<\/a> and Ss. 65-A<\/a> & 65-B<\/a> — Evidence obtained by illegal or improper means (including electronic evidence) — Admissibility of:<\/span> Provided the tests of relevancy and admissibility are otherwise strictly satisfied, evidence obtained by illegal or improper means (including electronic evidence) is admissible, [Naresh Kumar Garg v. State of Haryana<\/span>, (2026) 7 SCC 784<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

GST — Concession\/Exemption\/Incentive\/Rebate\/Subsidy — Notification No. 9\/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate) dt. 28-6-2017 — Entry 13 (as existing prior to amendment w.e.f. 18-7-2022):<\/span> Rented residential dwelling used as hostels or paying guest (PG) accommodations, entitled to GST exemption, [State of Karnataka v. Taghar Vasudeva Ambrish<\/span>, (2026) 7 SCC 666<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Guardians and Wards Act, 1890<\/a> — Ss. 7<\/a>, 17<\/a> and 25<\/a> — Custody of minor children — Paramount consideration of welfare of the child — Scope:<\/span> Child custody decisions cannot rest on welfare alone, courts must also take into account a range of other relevant factors, including conduct of parents, their financial capacity, standard of living, and comfort and education of children, [Mohtashem Billah Malik v. Sana Aftab<\/span>, (2026) 7 SCC 658<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Key Supreme Court rulings on Article 227, RTE, Teachers Eligibility Test, custody, GST rebate, etc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67524,"featured_media":397799,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,16],"tags":[4751,116221,116222,14471,3260,6711,11941,58933,6252,6241,116223,84722,22424,31103,11411,44115,19711],"class_list":["post-397798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casesreported","category-supremecourtcases","tag-scc","tag-2026-scc-vol-7-part-5","tag-admissibility-of-electronic-evidence","tag-article-227","tag-Constitution","tag-criminal-law","tag-crpc","tag-custody-of-minor-children","tag-evidence-act","tag-gst","tag-gst-rebate","tag-latest-supreme-court-cases","tag-rejection-of-plaint","tag-rte","tag-supreme-court-cases","tag-tax-law","tag-teachers-eligibility-test"],"yoast_head":"\n2026 SCC Vol. 7 Part 5: Latest 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Amarchand Mangaldas advises L Catterton India Fund on its investment in Nandhana Foods Private Limited"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas advised L Catterton India Fund on its investment in Nandhana Foods Private Limited (the “Company”), by way of a subscription to newly issued equity shares and the acquisition of equity shares from existing shareholders (the “Transaction”).<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Company operates South Indian cuisine restaurants and cloud kitchens and is also engaged in the retail sale of spices and pickles under its own brand.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">CAM advised on all aspects of the Transaction, including the legal due diligence and the transaction documents.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The transaction team was led by Aditi Manchanda, Saloni Shroff, and Sonakshi Arora, Partners; with support from Geetika Myer, Principal Associate; Deepjoyika Dastidar, Principal Associate — Designate; Kaushik Raichura and Harshvardhan Tripathi, Senior Associates; Shravan Subramanian and Karan Anand, Associates.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Biplab Lenin, Partner; with support from Pratiti Shah, Senior Associate; advised on the regulatory related aspects of the transaction.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Abe Abraham, Partner; with support from Faiza Khan, Principal Associate; and Harshit Chauhan, Associate; advised on the labour related aspects of the transaction.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Swati Sharma, Partner (Head – Intellectual Property); and Arya Tripathy, Partner; with support from Andri Shukla, Principal Associate; Pundreek Dwivedi, Senior Associate; Milind Yadav and Dylan Sharma, Associates; advised on the intellectual property and information technology related aspects of the transaction.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">CAM advised on all aspects of the Transaction, including the legal due diligence and the transaction documents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67011,"featured_media":397794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45282,2],"tags":[31359,30960,80352,2958,34438,81821,116219,116217,81364,85703,8901,116220,116218,107530,114553],"class_list":["post-397793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-law-firms-news","category-news","tag-corporate-law","tag-cyril-amarchand-mangaldas","tag-india-investment","tag-Investment","tag-investment-law","tag-investment-transaction","tag-l-catterton","tag-l-catterton-india-fund","tag-legal-advisory","tag-ma","tag-mergers-and-acquisitions","tag-nandhana-foods","tag-nandhana-foods-private-limited","tag-private-equity-investment","tag-private-equity-transaction"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the 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Albatross Finally Laid to Rest? Tracing the Journey of the Word “Industry” under Indian Labour Law A Study of State of U.P. v. Jai Bir Singh"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; text-align: center;\">This article traces the Supreme Court’s decision in State of U.P. v. Jai Bir Singh, examining the evolution of “industry” under the Industrial Disputes Act and its implications under the Industrial Relations Code.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Introduction<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Few definitional questions in Indian statutory law have occupied the Supreme Court for as long, or as persistently, as the meaning of the word “industry” under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001532547\" target=\"_blank\">2(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">j<\/span>)<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">Industrial Disputes Act, 1947<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a>). The question determines nothing less than the threshold access of an entire class of persons — workmen — to the protective and dispute-resolution machinery of the Act: conciliation, adjudication, reinstatement and compensation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">On 20 August 2026, a nine-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court of India, in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003801849\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">State of U.P.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Jai Bir Singh<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref1\" href=\"#fn1\" title=\"1. 2026 SCC OnLine SC 1684.\"><sup>1<\/sup><\/a>, finally answered a reference that had lain pending, in one form or another, since 2001. The judgment runs to five separate opinions and traverses nearly 80 years of industrial law jurisprudence. Here an attempt has been made to trace that jurisprudential arc — from the enactment of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a>, through the landmark seven-Judge decision in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">A. Rajappa<\/span><\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref2\" href=\"#fn2\" title=\"2. (1978) 2 SCC 213 : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.\"><sup>2<\/sup><\/a>, to the 2026 nine-Judge pronouncement and considers what the decision means for labour law practice now that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">Industrial Relations Code, 2020<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">IR Code<\/a>) has replaced the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">The historical development of industrial legislation in India<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a> did not emerge in a vacuum. Industrial unrest in the early 20th century, and the experience of wartime industrial regulation under Rule 81-A, Defence of India Rules, 1942 (which introduced compulsory conciliation and adjudication of industrial disputes during the Second World War), demonstrated to the colonial and, later, the independent Indian state the necessity of a permanent statutory mechanism for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes. The Trade Disputes Act, 1929 had provided an earlier, more limited framework of Conciliation Boards and courts of inquiry, but lacked binding adjudicatory teeth.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a> replaced this earlier framework with a more elaborate architecture — works committees, conciliation officers and Boards, courts of inquiry, and, crucially, Labour Courts, Industrial Tribunals and National Tribunals empowered to adjudicate disputes and grant binding relief, including reinstatement and back wages. The Act’s protective machinery, however, is triggered only where an “industrial dispute” exists between an “industry” and its “workmen”. Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001532547\" target=\"_blank\">2(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">j<\/span>)<\/span><\/a> accordingly defines “industry” in deliberately wide terms “any business, trade, undertaking, manufacture or calling of employers and includes any calling, service, employment, handicraft, or industrial occupation or avocation of workmen” language substantially drawn, as the 2026 judgment itself records, from Section 4, Australian Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act, 1904. It is this deliberately open-textured formula, applied over decades to an ever-expanding range of institutions; hospitals, universities, clubs, municipal corporations, research bodies and government departments that has generated the interpretive history traced below. Independent India’s most significant subsequent legislative intervention in this field is the enactment, decades later, of the four Labour Codes, of which the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">IR Code<\/a> (in force from 21 November 2025, with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a> formally repealed with effect from 2 February 2026) directly supersedes the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a> and recasts “industry” under its own Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000629788\" target=\"_blank\">2(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">p<\/span>)<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">The definition of “Industry” over the years: The pre-Bangalore water supply jurisprudence<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Even before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref3\" href=\"#fn3\" title=\"3. Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board v. A. Rajappa, (1978) 2 SCC 213 : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.\"><sup>3<\/sup><\/a>, the Supreme Court oscillated between expansive and restrictive readings of Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001532547\" target=\"_blank\">2(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">j<\/span>)<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"background-image: linear-gradient(to left, #FFFFFF, rgb(236, 198, 198));\">A. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Casting the net wide<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001280154\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">D.N. Banerji<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">P.R. Mukherjee<\/span><\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref4\" href=\"#fn4\" title=\"4. (1952) 2 SCC 619.\"><sup>4<\/sup><\/a>, a five-Judge Bench held that a municipality could be an “industry”, propounding the “analogous to trade or business” test and rejecting an <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">ejusdem generis<\/span> reading of “undertaking”. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000055703\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">State of Bombay<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Hospital Mazdoor Sabha<\/span><\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref5\" href=\"#fn5\" title=\"5. 1960 SCC OnLine SC 44.\"><sup>5<\/sup><\/a>, extended this to a government hospital, laying down a fivefold test for an “undertaking” (systematic activity; production or distribution of goods or material services; employee assistance; organisation analogous to trade or business; and absence of a purely casual or personal character), while clarifying that neither profit motive nor capital investment was essential. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000055711\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Corpn. of the City of Nagpur<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Workmen<\/span><\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref6\" href=\"#fn6\" title=\"6. 1960 SCC OnLine SC 45.\"><sup>6<\/sup><\/a>, brought a municipal corporation within the fold, subject to a narrow sovereign-function exception (confined to legislative, judicial and core administrative functions) and a “predominant function” test for composite departments. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000055887\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s Research Assn.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">State of Bombay<\/span><\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref7\" href=\"#fn7\" title=\"7. 1960 SCC OnLine SC 152.\"><sup>7<\/sup><\/a>, extended the definition to a textile research association.<\/p>\n<p style=\"background-image: linear-gradient(to left, #FFFFFF, rgb(236, 198, 198));\">B. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">The turning of the tide<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The expansive trend met resistance. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000056360\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">National Union of Commercial Employees<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">M.R. Meher<\/span><\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref8\" href=\"#fn8\" title=\"8. 1962 SCC OnLine SC 132.\"><sup>8<\/sup><\/a>, excluded a firm of solicitors, introducing a requirement of a “direct” nexus between employer-employee cooperation and the service rendered, and thereby excluding the learned professions generally. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000056766\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">University of Delhi<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Ram Nath<\/span><\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref9\" href=\"#fn9\" title=\"9. 1963 SCC OnLine SC 117.\"><sup>9<\/sup><\/a>, took universities outside Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001532547\" target=\"_blank\">2(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">j<\/span>)<\/span><\/a>, characterising teaching as a “mission” rather than a trade, business or calling, and holding that most university employees (teachers) were not “workmen”. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000057976\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Madras Gymkhana Club Employees Union<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Gymkhana Club<\/span><\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref10\" href=\"#fn10\" title=\"10. 1967 SCC OnLine SC 51.\"><sup>10<\/sup><\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000058225\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Cricket Club of India Ltd.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bombay Labour Union<\/span><\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref11\" href=\"#fn11\" title=\"11. 1968 SCC OnLine SC 132.\"><sup>11<\/sup><\/a>, excluded self-serving members’ clubs, notably declining to adopt the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000055703\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Hospital Mazdoor Sabha<\/span><\/a> criterion of whether an activity could, in principle, be carried on by a private individual. The restrictive trend reached its high-water mark in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000006988\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Safdarjung Hospital<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Kuldip Singh Sethi<\/span><\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref12\" href=\"#fn12\" title=\"12. (1970) 1 SCC 735.\"><sup>12<\/sup><\/a>, where a six-Judge Bench expressly overruled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000055703\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Hospital Mazdoor Sabha<\/span><\/a> and held that even a hospital; whether governmental, charitable or research-oriented, required a close, commercial-style analogy to trade or business, and that “material services” meant organised provision of essential utilities such as electricity, water, transport, post and telecommunications.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">By the early 1970s, therefore, this court’s own decisions on hospitals, universities, clubs and government departments stood in genuine and acknowledged tension — the very confusion that necessitated a reference to a seven-Judge Bench.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">A. Rajappa<\/span>: The watershed<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The reference arose out of proceedings under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001532591\" target=\"_blank\">33-C(2)<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a> by employees penalised for misconduct, where the Board contended it discharged “regal” functions and was therefore not an “industry”. The resulting decision <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref13\" href=\"#fn13\" title=\"13. Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board v. A. Rajappa, (1978) 2 SCC 213 : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.\"><sup>13<\/sup><\/a>, was rendered by seven Judges, with a majority of five (Krishna Iyer, J., writing for himself, Bhagwati and Desai, JJ., and separately for Beg, CJ) against a partly dissenting opinion of Jaswant Singh, J. (for himself and Tulzapurkar, J.) yielding an effective 5:2 majority.<\/p>\n<p style=\"background-image: linear-gradient(to left, #FFFFFF, rgb(236, 198, 198));\">A. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">The triple test<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Krishna Iyer, J.’s leading opinion formulated what is now known as the “triple test”: an “industry” exists wherever there is 1) systematic and organised activity; 2) cooperation between employer and employee (without any requirement of a rigid, direct nexus); and 3) production or distribution of goods or services calculated to satisfy human wants and wishes (excluding purely spiritual or religious activity, but including the material distribution even of, illustratively, prasad). Profit motive and the public, private or joint character of the enterprise were held to be irrelevant.<\/p>\n<p style=\"background-image: linear-gradient(to left, #FFFFFF, rgb(236, 198, 198));\">B. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Reading down “undertaking”, the dominant nature test, and the sovereign function exception<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The court read “undertaking” down to avoid it becoming a “domain too rarified to be realistic”, carving out a narrow exemption for genuinely eleemosynary or charitable activity conducted through volunteers rather than an employer-employee relationship (for instance, gratuitous legal aid or medical camps). Where an enterprise comprised a complex of activities, some qualifying and some not, the “dominant nature test” directed that the enterprise be classified by its predominant character as a whole. And the sovereign function exception was confined narrowly to the “primary and inalienable functions of constitutional government”; legislative, judicial and core administrative functions, with welfare and economic activity of the State expressly excluded from the immunity, and severable industrial units within an otherwise sovereign department remaining independently covered.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Notably, all seven Judges broadly accepted the triple test’s constituent elements; the divergence lay chiefly in its application Chandrachud, J. (as he then was) emphasised whether the activity was objectively organised the way trade or business is ordinarily organised, while Jaswant Singh and Tulzapurkar, JJ., while accepting the three elements, would have additionally required the activity to be carried on “on commercial lines by private entrepreneurs”.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">The post-Bangalore water supply turbulence<\/p>\n<p style=\"background-image: linear-gradient(to left, #FFFFFF, rgb(236, 198, 198));\">A. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">The aborted legislative response<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Parliament responded through the Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Act, 1982, which retained the triple test’s core but carved out express statutory exclusions for agriculture, hospitals and dispensaries, educational\/scientific\/research\/training institutions, charitable and philanthropic institutions, khadi and village industries, sovereign functions (including defence research, atomic energy and space), domestic service, small professional establishments, and small cooperative societies\/clubs. Passed on 21 August 1984, this amendment was, however, never brought into force by notification and remains a dead letter to this day, over four decades later.<\/p>\n<p style=\"background-image: linear-gradient(to left, #FFFFFF, rgb(236, 198, 198));\">B. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Discord over the sovereign function exception and research institutions<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Post-1978 case law split over how narrowly the sovereign function exception ought to be read. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000023503\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Chief Conservator of Forests<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Jagannath Maruti Kondhare<\/span><\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref14\" href=\"#fn14\" title=\"14. (1996) 2 SCC 293 : 1996 SCC (L&S) 500.\"><sup>14<\/sup><\/a>, adhered to the narrow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref15\" href=\"#fn15\" title=\"15. Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board v. A. Rajappa, (1978) 2 SCC 213 : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.\"><sup>15<\/sup><\/a> construction and held a State Social Forestry Department to be an “industry”. By contrast, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000022635\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Sub-Divisional Inspector of Post, Vaikam<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Theyyam Joseph<\/span><\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref16\" href=\"#fn16\" title=\"16. (1996) 8 SCC 489 : 1996 SCC (L&S) 1012.\"><sup>16<\/sup><\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000024986\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bombay Telephone Canteen Employees’ Assn.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Union of India<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref17\" href=\"#fn17\" title=\"17. (1997) 6 SCC 723.\"><sup>17<\/sup><\/a> took a broader view of welfare functions performed under Part IV of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726967\" target=\"_blank\">Constitution<\/a>, going so far as to warn that unqualified application of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a> could have “catastrophic” consequences. This divergence was resolved, in favour of the narrower reading, by a three-Judge Bench in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000025169\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">General Manager, Telecom<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">A. Srinivasa Rao<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref18\" href=\"#fn18\" title=\"18. (1997) 8 SCC 767.\"><sup>18<\/sup><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"background-image: linear-gradient(to left, #FFFFFF, rgb(236, 198, 198));\">C. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">The calls for reconsideration<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Doubt about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a>‘s continuing wisdom crystallised in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000025701\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Coir Board, Ernakulam<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Indira Devi P.S.<\/span><\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref19\" href=\"#fn19\" title=\"19. (1998) 3 SCC 259 : 1998 SCC (L&S) 806.\"><sup>19<\/sup><\/a>, where a two-Judge Bench, considering the Coir Board, referred the correctness of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a> itself for reconsideration, observing that two decades of experience had shown the expansive definition had curtailed employment opportunities and disabled charitable activity from coping with its statutory burden. A three-Judge Bench declined this particular reference as procedurally incompetent (a smaller Bench being bound by the larger). Reconsideration was, however, ultimately triggered by an apparent conflict between the three-Judge Bench in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000023503\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Jagannath Maruti Kondhare<\/span><\/a> (expansive) and the two-Judge Bench in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000030959\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">State of Gujarat<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Pratamsingh Narsinh Parmar<\/span><\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref20\" href=\"#fn20\" title=\"20. (2001) 9 SCC 713 : 2002 SCC (L&S) 269.\"><sup>20<\/sup><\/a> (restrictive) — a conflict a three-Judge Bench identified on 31 January 2001 in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003801849\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Jai Bir Singh<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref21\" href=\"#fn21\" title=\"21. State of U.P. v. Jai Bir Singh, 2026 SCC OnLine SC 1684.\"><sup>21<\/sup><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">The manner in which the reference came to be made<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The procedural pedigree of the 2026 decision is unusually long and is itself a subject of extended discussion (and disagreement) in the separate opinions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">31 January 2001<\/span>: A three-Judge Bench in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003801849\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Jai Bir Singh<\/span><\/a> identifies the conflict between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000023503\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Jagannath Maruti Kondhare<\/span><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000030959\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Pratamsingh Narsinh Parmar<\/span><\/a> and refers the correctness of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a> for reconsideration by a larger Bench.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">5 May 2005<\/span>: A five-Judge Bench in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000036594\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">State of U.P.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Jai Bir Singh<\/span><\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref22\" href=\"#fn22\" title=\"22. (2005) 5 SCC 1 : 2005 SCC (L&S) 642.\"><sup>22<\/sup><\/a>, holds that reconsideration is warranted, giving seven principal reasons: the lack of unanimity within the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref23\" href=\"#fn23\" title=\"23. Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board v. A. Rajappa, (1978) 2 SCC 213 : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.\"><sup>23<\/sup><\/a><\/span> majority itself; the majority’s own acknowledgment that the definition was “wide and vague” and its interpretation “tentative and temporary” pending legislative intervention; the need to balance employer, employee and public interest rather than a purely worker-oriented approach; the practical burden of large reinstatement\/back-wage awards on employers of moderate means; the non-notification of the 1982 Amendment; the deterrence to private enterprise and the awkward inclusion of liberal professions; and the argument that the sovereign function exception ought to extend to Part IV welfare activity.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">2 January 2017<\/span>: A seven-Judge Bench, led by the then Chief Justice, directs that the matter be heard by a Bench of nine Judges.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">During the course of the hearing, the maintainability of the reference itself was challenged by counsel for the respondent-workmen, who invoked <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a>‘s near half-century of settled application and the doctrine of stare decisis. The majority (Surya Kant, CJI, writing for himself, Satish Chandra Sharma, Alok Aradhe and Vipul M. Pancholi, JJ.) rejected this objection, applying the Constitution Bench framework in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000036361\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Central Board of Dawoodi Bohra Community<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">State of Maharashtra<\/span><\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref24\" href=\"#fn24\" title=\"24. (2005) 2 SCC 673 : 2005 SCC (Cri) 546 : 2005 SCC (L&S) 246.\"><sup>24<\/sup><\/a> (which holds, inter alia, that a Bench of lesser strength cannot dissent from a decision of larger or co-equal strength but may only refer the matter to a Bench of at least equal strength), and held that the successive references of 2001, 2005 and 2017 satisfied that framework and were validly made. Notably, however, several of the separate opinions discussed below took the contrary view that the reference, however validly constituted procedurally, ought not to have been answered on the merits at this late and post-repeal stage.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">The decision of the nine-Judge Bench (2026 INSC 897)<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Five separate opinions were delivered, disposing of the batch of appeals unanimously in result but disagreeing sharply on reasoning.<\/p>\n<p style=\"background-image: linear-gradient(to left, #FFFFFF, rgb(236, 198, 198));\">A. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">The lead opinion: Surya Kant, CJI (for himself, Satish Chandra Sharma, Alok Aradhe and Vipul M. Pancholi, JJ.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The plurality of four, in an opinion running the full length of the primary judgment (paras 1—290), undertook the exhaustive historical review summarised above, upheld the maintainability of the reference, and proceeded to answer it on the merits. Rather than overruling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref25\" href=\"#fn25\" title=\"25. Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board v. A. Rajappa, (1978) 2 SCC 213 : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.\"><sup>25<\/sup><\/a>, the majority held that “certain aspects of the Triple Test… were susceptible to further refinement”, and set out, expressly on a “hypothetical” basis, how the triple test “would have been more appropriately structured”. The reformulation retains the essential threefold structure (systematic activity; employer-employee cooperation; production or provision of goods or services of a discernible commercial character, analogous to trade or business, calculated to satisfy material human wants) while emphasising a “contextual and associational shrinkage” of the word “undertaking”, preserving the dominant nature test, and confirming that sovereign functions (narrowly construed) remain exempt while severable industrial units within sovereign departments do not.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Crucially, the majority opinion was explicit that this reformulation is obiter in effect: it “do[es] not propose… to disturb the application of the Triple Test to proceedings that remain pending”, which continue to be governed by the unmodified <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a> ratio; it operates, if at all, only prospectively and expressly does not extend to interpretation of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">IR Code<\/a>, which “must be interpreted on its own terms” and for which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a> “shall not be regarded as the sheet anchor”. It also declined to pronounce on the validity or effect of the never-notified 1982 Amendment, holding the exercise “wholly academic”.<\/p>\n<p style=\"background-image: linear-gradient(to left, #FFFFFF, rgb(236, 198, 198));\">B. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Nagarathna, J. (separate opinion)<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Nagarathna, J., took the most emphatic position against reopening <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a> at all. In her view, the 2001 reference rested on a misconceived premise — the supposed conflict between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000023503\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Jagannath Maruti Kondhare<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref26\" href=\"#fn26\" title=\"26. Chief Conservator of Forests v. Jagannath Maruti Kondhare, (1996) 2 SCC 293 : 1996 SCC (L&S) 500.\"><sup>26<\/sup><\/a> (a three-Judge Bench) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000030959\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Pratamsingh Narsinh Parmar<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref27\" href=\"#fn27\" title=\"27. State of Gujarat v. Pratamsingh Narsinh Parmar, (2001) 9 SCC 713 : 2002 SCC (L&S) 269.\"><sup>27<\/sup><\/a> (a two-Judge Bench) did not, properly analysed, dilute the ratio of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a>‘s<a id=\"fnref28\" href=\"#fn28\" title=\"28. Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board v. A. Rajappa, (1978) 2 SCC 213 : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.\"><sup>28<\/sup><\/a> majority. She held that the reference to the nine-Judge Bench was, strictly, unnecessary, and further gave 10 independent reasons why it need not be answered at this juncture even if validly made — among them, the repeal of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a> and enactment of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">IR Code<\/a> with its own Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000629788\" target=\"_blank\">2(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">p<\/span>)<\/span><\/a> definition; the broad five-Judge consensus underlying <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a> itself; the risk that any pronouncement on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a> would inevitably cast its shadow over the fresh <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">IR Code<\/a> definition; the fact that the 1982 Amendment Bill remains unnotified over four decades later and must be taken as Parliament’s implicit acquiescence in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a>; and the changed economic landscape following the 1991 liberalisation reforms. On her analysis, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a> “does not call for any interference or modification”.<\/p>\n<p style=\"background-image: linear-gradient(to left, #FFFFFF, rgb(236, 198, 198));\">C. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Narasimha, J. (separate opinion)<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Narasimha, J., agreed that the reference was procedurally valid and, at the time it was made, that an authoritative determination was genuinely called for memorably observing that Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001532547\" target=\"_blank\">2(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">j<\/span>)<\/span><\/a>, “read literally, is wide enough to describe a factory and a family kitchen in the same breath”. However, he held that the repeal of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a> (with effect from 21 November 2025) has since rendered a fresh authoritative interpretation of Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001532547\" target=\"_blank\">2(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">j<\/span>)<\/span><\/a> unnecessary as a matter of continuing utility. He would dispose of all pending <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a> matters strictly by applying the unmodified <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a> ratio declining to fashion “a third set of principles applicable only to pending cases” — and held that the interpretation of “industry” under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000629788\" target=\"_blank\">2(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">p<\/span>)<\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">IR Code<\/a> must proceed independently, unburdened by inherited <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a> jurisprudence, so as not to relegate large numbers of workmen to civil suits.<\/p>\n<p style=\"background-image: linear-gradient(to left, #FFFFFF, rgb(236, 198, 198));\">D. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Dipankar Datta, J. (for himself and Ujjal Bhuyan, J.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Writing for himself and Bhuyan, Dipankar Datta, JJ., went furthest in endorsing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref29\" href=\"#fn29\" title=\"29. Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board v. A. Rajappa, (1978) 2 SCC 213 : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.\"><sup>29<\/sup><\/a><\/span> as it stands, holding that Krishna Iyer, J.’s, interpretation (concurred in by Beg, CJ and Chandrachud, J.) “correctly interprets ‘industry’” and requires no reconsideration. Invoking Krishna Iyer, J.’s, own observation in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a> (para 145) that the ruling was intended as an interim judicial formulation pending legislative intervention, this opinion held that more than four decades of executive inertia and consistent application had converted that “transient” arrangement into settled, institutional law that finality and stare decisis now protect. The opinion expressly rejects the reference holding it “not necessary” and serving “no practical, jurisprudential or doctrinal purpose” and directs that pending <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a> matters proceed on the pre-existing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a> ratio, leaving any constitutional challenge to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">IR Code<\/a> definition entirely untouched.<\/p>\n<p style=\"background-image: linear-gradient(to left, #FFFFFF, rgb(236, 198, 198));\">E. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Joymalya Bagchi, J. (separate opinion)<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Bagchi, J., in a further separate opinion, substantially aligned with the outcome favoured by Nagarathna and Dipankar Datta, JJ. He emphasised that charitable, religious and educational undertakings are to be assessed by the character of the employer-employee relationship, not by the benevolence of their stated object; that the never-notified 1982 Amendment cannot be used to judicially redraft the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a> ratio, particularly given Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001528411\" target=\"_blank\">6<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726955\" target=\"_blank\">General Clauses Act, 1897<\/a>, which preserves rights and liabilities under a repealed enactment; that sovereign immunity from industrial law cannot be stretched to cover ordinary welfare activity absent an equally efficacious alternative remedy; and that stare decisis counsels retention of a rule that has governed “legacy” <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a> litigation for decades, since overruling it now would “unsettle rights and proceedings doing more harm than good”. He agreed that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">IR Code<\/a>‘s own definition must be independently interpreted going forward.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Analysis: Likely impact on labour law jurisprudence in the era of the Labour Codes<\/p>\n<p style=\"background-image: linear-gradient(to left, #FFFFFF, rgb(236, 198, 198));\">A. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">A judgment of largely symbolic and prospective character for pending ID Act matters<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The single most important practical point to grasp about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000036594\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Jai Bir Singh<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref30\" href=\"#fn30\" title=\"30. State of U.P. v. Jai Bir Singh, 2026 SCC OnLine SC 1684.\"><sup>30<\/sup><\/a><\/span> (2026) is that, on the operative question of what governs the roughly forty connected appeals and, by extension, other pending <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a> litigation, there is near-total convergence across all nine Judges. The triple test reformulated by the majority is expressly confined to a “hypothetical” exercise that does not disturb pending proceedings; the other five Judges (Nagarathna, Narasimha, Dipankar Datta, Bhuyan and Bagchi, JJ.) go further and hold that no reformulation was warranted at all. The upshot, for practitioners with matters presently before Labour Courts, Industrial Tribunals or High Courts under the (now repealed) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a>, is that the classical <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref31\" href=\"#fn31\" title=\"31. Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board v. A. Rajappa, (1978) 2 SCC 213 : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.\"><sup>31<\/sup><\/a> triple test — unaltered — continues to apply, without disturbance to judgments, awards or settlements that have already attained finality.<\/p>\n<p style=\"background-image: linear-gradient(to left, #FFFFFF, rgb(236, 198, 198));\">B. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">The reformulated triple test as non-binding guidance<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The reformulation of the triple test<span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/span>, emphasising a “contextual and associational shrinkage” of “undertaking” and refining the articulation (though not the substance) of the dominant nature and sovereign function principles is nonetheless likely to be cited in future commentary and, cautiously, in future litigation, notwithstanding its self-declared hypothetical status. Practitioners should note, however, that four opinions of the nine expressly decline to endorse it, and that its own authors disclaim any binding effect on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">IR Code<\/a> interpretation. Its long-term influence will depend on whether future Benches treat it as persuasive obiter or, as several of the separate opinions would prefer, disregard it altogether as an unnecessary answer to what had, by 2026, become a largely academic reference.<\/p>\n<p style=\"background-image: linear-gradient(to left, #FFFFFF, rgb(236, 198, 198));\">C. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">The real centre of gravity shifts to Section<\/span> 2(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">p<\/span>),<span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/span> IR Code<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Every opinion in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000036594\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Jai Bir Singh<\/span><\/a> (2026) is unanimous on one forward-looking point: the interpretation of “industry” under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000629788\" target=\"_blank\">2(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">p<\/span>)<\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">IR Code<\/a> must be undertaken independently, on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">IR Code<\/a>‘s own text, scheme and object, without treating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a> (whether in its original or reformulated form) as a “sheet anchor”. This is, arguably, the most consequential holding of the case for the future of Indian labour law. It means that the extensive body of case law built around Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001532547\" target=\"_blank\">2(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">j<\/span>)<\/span><\/a> over nearly 80 years on hospitals, universities, clubs, research institutions, municipal corporations, and the sovereign function exception does not automatically carry over to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">IR Code<\/a>. Employers and trade unions litigating the threshold coverage of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">IR Code<\/a> will need to construct fresh interpretive arguments keyed to Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000629788\" target=\"_blank\">2(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">p<\/span>)<\/span><\/a>‘s specific language, informed by, but not bound by, the pre-2026 jurisprudence. This creates both an opportunity and a considerable measure of near-term uncertainty, since the Supreme Court has, in effect, declined this occasion to pre-empt <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">IR Code<\/a> litigation and has left the field open for a fresh round of interpretive contest before the Labour Courts, Industrial Tribunals reconstituted under the Code, High Courts, and eventually the Supreme Court itself.<\/p>\n<p style=\"background-image: linear-gradient(to left, #FFFFFF, rgb(236, 198, 198));\">D. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Legacy of the never-notified 1982 Amendment<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The decision also draws a firm line under the Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Act, 1982, confirming across multiple opinions that a parliamentary amendment which is never notified acquires no operative legal effect and cannot be judicially invoked, whether to narrow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a> or otherwise. This reaffirms settled constitutional principle regarding the separation of enactment from commencement and forecloses any future argument that the unnotified 1982 exclusions (for hospitals, educational institutions, research bodies, charities, etc.) inform the interpretation of either the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a> or the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">IR Code<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"background-image: linear-gradient(to left, #FFFFFF, rgb(236, 198, 198));\">E. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Key takeaways<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">For matters filed or arising under the erstwhile <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a> and presently pending: continue to argue coverage strictly on the unmodified <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a> triple test, dominant nature test and narrow sovereign function exception; the 2026 reformulation, being expressly non-binding on pending matters, should not be relied upon to either expand or contract an existing claim. For matters arising under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">IR Code<\/a>: treat Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000629788\" target=\"_blank\">2(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">p<\/span>)<\/span><\/a> as an interpretive blank slate, to be argued on first principles of statutory construction, <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">viz<\/span>.; text, context, object and the noscitur a sociis principle discussed at length in the 2026 judgment’s historical review — while drawing selectively, and only as persuasive material, on the accumulated pre-2026 case law on hospitals, universities, research institutions, clubs and government departments.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Conclusion<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The majority opinion in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000036594\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Jai Bir Singh<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref32\" href=\"#fn32\" title=\"32. State of U.P. v. Jai Bir Singh, 2026 SCC OnLine SC 1684.\"><sup>32<\/sup><\/a> (2026) opens with the image of the albatross around the mariner’s neck, the decades-old burden of an unresolved definitional controversy. Whether that burden has truly been “lifted”, as the majority opinion hopes, is debatable: five of the nine Judges would have preferred not to answer the reference on the merits at all, and even the majority’s own reformulation is confined to hypothetical, prospective effect. What the judgment does achieve, with unusual clarity, is a formal closing of the chapter on Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001532547\" target=\"_blank\">2(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">j<\/span>)<\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002756734\" target=\"_blank\">ID Act<\/a>; pending matters will be finally disposed of under the settled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply<\/span><\/a><a id=\"fnref33\" href=\"#fn33\" title=\"33. Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board v. A. Rajappa, (1978) 2 SCC 213 : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.\"><sup>33<\/sup><\/a><\/span> triple test and an equally clear signal that the interpretive battles of the next several decades will be fought not over Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001532547\" target=\"_blank\">2(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">j<\/span>)<\/span><\/a>, but over Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000629788\" target=\"_blank\">2(<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">p<\/span>)<\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000630029\" target=\"_blank\">IR Code<\/a>, on a comparatively blank interpretive slate. For labour law practitioners, the immediate task is finishing yesterday’s litigation under yesterday’s law; the larger task, only just beginning, is building tomorrow’s jurisprudence under the new Labour Codes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr\/>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000080;\">*Advocate, Chamber No. 23 R. K. Garg Chamber Block, Supreme Court of India. Author can be reached at: <a href=\"mailto:a.arindammukherjee@gmail.com\" target=\"_blank\">a.arindammukherjee@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn1\" href=\"#fnref1\">1.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003801849\" target=\"_blank\">2026 SCC OnLine SC 1684<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn2\" href=\"#fnref2\">2.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\">(1978) 2 SCC 213<\/a> : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn3\" href=\"#fnref3\">3.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">A. Rajappa<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\">(1978) 2 SCC 213<\/a> : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn4\" href=\"#fnref4\">4.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001280154\" target=\"_blank\">(1952) 2 SCC 619<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn5\" href=\"#fnref5\">5.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000055703\" target=\"_blank\">1960 SCC OnLine SC 44<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn6\" href=\"#fnref6\">6.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000055711\" target=\"_blank\">1960 SCC OnLine SC 45<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn7\" href=\"#fnref7\">7.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000055887\" target=\"_blank\">1960 SCC OnLine SC 152<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn8\" href=\"#fnref8\">8.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000056360\" target=\"_blank\">1962 SCC OnLine SC 132<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn9\" href=\"#fnref9\">9.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000056766\" target=\"_blank\">1963 SCC OnLine SC 117<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn10\" href=\"#fnref10\">10.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000057976\" target=\"_blank\">1967 SCC OnLine SC 51<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn11\" href=\"#fnref11\">11.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000058225\" target=\"_blank\">1968 SCC OnLine SC 132<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn12\" href=\"#fnref12\">12.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000006988\" target=\"_blank\">(1970) 1 SCC 735<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn13\" href=\"#fnref13\">13.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">A. Rajappa<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\">(1978) 2 SCC 213<\/a> : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn14\" href=\"#fnref14\">14.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000022635\" target=\"_blank\">(1996) 2 SCC 293<\/a> : 1996 SCC (L&S) 500.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn15\" href=\"#fnref15\">15.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">A. Rajappa<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\">(1978) 2 SCC 213<\/a> : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn16\" href=\"#fnref16\">16.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000023503\" target=\"_blank\">(1996) 8 SCC 489<\/a> : 1996 SCC (L&S) 1012.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn17\" href=\"#fnref17\">17.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000024986\">(1997) 6 SCC 723<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn18\" href=\"#fnref18\">18.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000025169\">(1997) 8 SCC 767<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn19\" href=\"#fnref19\">19.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000025701\" target=\"_blank\">(1998) 3 SCC 259<\/a> : 1998 SCC (L&S) 806.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn20\" href=\"#fnref20\">20.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000030959\" target=\"_blank\">(2001) 9 SCC 713<\/a> : 2002 SCC (L&S) 269.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn21\" href=\"#fnref21\">21.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003801849\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">State of U.P.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Jai Bir Singh<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003801849\" target=\"_blank\">2026 SCC OnLine SC 1684<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn22\" href=\"#fnref22\">22.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000036594\" target=\"_blank\">(2005) 5 SCC 1<\/a> : 2005 SCC (L&S) 642.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn23\" href=\"#fnref23\">23.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">A. Rajappa<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\">(1978) 2 SCC 213<\/a> : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn24\" href=\"#fnref24\">24.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000036361\" target=\"_blank\">(2005) 2 SCC 673<\/a> : 2005 SCC (Cri) 546 : 2005 SCC (L&S) 246.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn25\" href=\"#fnref25\">25.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">A. Rajappa<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\">(1978) 2 SCC 213<\/a> : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn26\" href=\"#fnref26\">26.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000023503\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Chief Conservator of Forests<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Jagannath Maruti Kondhare<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000022635\" target=\"_blank\">(1996) 2 SCC 293<\/a> : 1996 SCC (L&S) 500.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn27\" href=\"#fnref27\">27.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000030959\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">State of Gujarat<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Pratamsingh Narsinh Parmar<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000030959\" target=\"_blank\">(2001) 9 SCC 713<\/a> : 2002 SCC (L&S) 269.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn28\" href=\"#fnref28\">28.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">A. Rajappa<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\">(1978) 2 SCC 213<\/a> : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn29\" href=\"#fnref29\">29.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">A. Rajappa<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\">(1978) 2 SCC 213<\/a> : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn30\" href=\"#fnref30\">30.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003801849\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">State of U.P.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Jai Bir Singh<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003801849\" target=\"_blank\">2026 SCC OnLine SC 1684<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn31\" href=\"#fnref31\">31.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">A. Rajappa<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\">(1978) 2 SCC 213<\/a> : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn32\" href=\"#fnref32\">32.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003801849\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">State of U.P.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Jai Bir Singh<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003801849\" target=\"_blank\">2026 SCC OnLine SC 1684<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;\"><a id=\"fn33\" href=\"#fnref33\">33.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">A. Rajappa<\/span><\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000011006\" target=\"_blank\">(1978) 2 SCC 213<\/a> : 1978 SCC (L&S) 215.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Arindam Mukherjee*<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67011,"featured_media":397767,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42503,1191],"tags":[116190,116196,116194,43884,116188,96225,116189,116192,116195,116187,116193,116191],"class_list":["post-397766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal-analysis","category-op-ed","tag-bangalore-water-supply-case","tag-dominant-nature-test","tag-indian-labour-jurisprudence","tag-industrial-relations-code-2020","tag-industry-under-indian-labour-law","tag-labour-law-reforms","tag-section-2j-industrial-disputes-act","tag-section-2p-ir-code","tag-sovereign-function-exception","tag-state-of-u-p-v-jai-bir-singh-2026","tag-supreme-court-labour-law-judgment","tag-triple-test-labour-law"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>State of U.P. v. 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Tracing the Journey of the Word “Industry” under Indian Labour Law A Study of State of U.P. v. Jai Bir Singh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"19 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/03\\\/jai-bir-singh-industry-indian-labour-law-bangalore-water-supply\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/03\\\/jai-bir-singh-industry-indian-labour-law-bangalore-water-supply\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/84e42bab48238baf12c7e33b3d9761fe\"},\"headline\":\"The Albatross Finally Laid to Rest? Tracing the Journey of the Word “Industry” under Indian Labour Law A Study of State of U.P. v. 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Hence, Datta, J., <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">rejected<\/span> the plea for referring the matter before a larger Bench. In his opinion, Datta, J., emphasised that, “<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">There can be no gainsaying that free and fair elections, to a large extent, depend on a truly independent ECI. It is not enough for the ECI to be independent, it must also appear to be independent.<\/span>”<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Per contra<\/span>, <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Sharma, J.<\/span>, opined that the <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">present petitions are eligible<\/span> to be placed before the Chief Justice of India for constitution of a Constitution Bench to adjudicate the constitutional validity of Sections <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001855320\" target=\"_blank\">7<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001855319\" target=\"_blank\">6<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001855321\" target=\"_blank\">8<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001856444\" target=\"_blank\">2023 Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Given the split opinion over whether the present petitions and the applications should be heard by a Constitution Bench of 5 Judges, the present Division Bench thus directed papers to be placed before the CJI for considering the desirability of constituting a Constitution Bench of such number of Judges as may be considered appropriate, to decide the question of vires of Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001855320\" target=\"_blank\">7<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001856444\" target=\"_blank\">2023 Act<\/a>. Furthermore, taking grim note of the time taken to decide references, the Court requested the Chief Justice to explore the necessity of constituting a <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">permanent five-Judge Bench<\/span> to decide pure constitutional issues.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Also read:<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/09\/25\/sc-constitution-bench-ec-act-challenge\/\" target=\"_blank\">Supreme Court split on referring EC Act challenge to larger bench; pitches permanent 5-Judge bench for constitutional issues<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Background<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The petitions challenged the vires of Sections <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001855320\" target=\"_blank\">7<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001855319\" target=\"_blank\">6<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001855321\" target=\"_blank\">8(2)<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001856444\" target=\"_blank\">2023 Act<\/a>. The petitions predominantly challenged the <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">executive dominance in the appointment mechanism<\/span> under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001855320\" target=\"_blank\">7<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001856444\" target=\"_blank\">2023 Act<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001855320\" target=\"_blank\">7<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001856444\" target=\"_blank\">2023 Act<\/a> deals with the composition of Selection Committee which oversees appointment of the CEC and ECs. As per the existing provision, the <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Selection Committee<\/span> comprises of the following:<\/p>\n<ol style=\"list-style-type: decimal;\">\n<li>\n<p>the Prime Minister as the Chairperson,<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha as Member,<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister as Member.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Section 7 notably <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">excludes the Chief Justice of India<\/span> as part of the Selection Committee.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Section 7(2) states that the appointment of CEC and other ECs shall not be invalid merely by reason of any vacancy in or any defect in the constitution of, the Selection Committee.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Section 6 deals with the Search Committee that shall prepare a panel of 5 persons for consideration of the Selection Committee.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Section 8 deals with power of Selection Committee to regulate its own procedure and Section 8(2) mandates that the Selection Committee may also consider any other person than those included in the panel by the Search Committee.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Contentions<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The petitioners relied on <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Anoop Baranwal<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Union of India<\/span>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001556330\" target=\"_blank\">(2023) 6 SCC 161<\/a>, where the Constitution Bench not only addressed the constitutional vacuum under Article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001575148\" target=\"_blank\">324(2)<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726967\" target=\"_blank\">Constitution<\/a>, but also held that the <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">ECI must be insulated from exclusive executive control<\/span> in appointments. It was contended that placing the appointment of ECs substantially under executive control compromises the constitutional balance, particularly because the executive itself is a participant in the electoral process. The petitions characterised the issue as whether the legislature has validly removed the basis of <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Anoop Baranwal<\/span>, rather than whether Article 324 itself requires fresh interpretation. It was thus contended that issue in these petitions, therefore, is an exercise in applying settled law.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">They further contended that the Prime Minister’s nominee can never be expected to oppose the Prime Minister and take the side of the Leader of Opposition; and, if the said Selection Committee were to function, the decision would invariably be 2:1, on paper, in favour of the executive and, in practice, of whoever is the ruling party. With 2 members from the executive being part of the Selection Committee, the executive has an effective veto.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Also read:<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/03\/03\/supreme-court-constitution-bench-election-commission-india-appointment-independence-prime-minister-leader-opposition-lok-sabha-cji-consolidated-fund-removal-reakdown-378-pages-verdict\/\" target=\"_blank\">An Independent Election Commission of India as envisioned by Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench: Breakdown of the 378-pages long verdict<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Per contra<\/span>, it was contended that prior to the enactment of the 2023 Act, directions in <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Anoop Baranwal<\/span> intended to operate only until the Parliament enacted an appropriate law. Consequently, with the field now occupied by legislation, the directions in <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Anoop Baranwal<\/span> cease to have any independent relevance and cannot furnish a basis for assailing the constitutional validity of the impugned enactment. It was argued that the questions that the Court must answer here have not been dealt with in any prior decision including <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Anoop Baranwal<\/span>. Such questions mandatorily require an interpretation of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726967\" target=\"_blank\">Constitution<\/a> and not mere application. It was further argued that impugned enactment represents a considered exercise of legislative wisdom by the Parliament and rests on the well-settled constitutional presumption that high constitutional functionaries, particularly the Prime Minister, would discharge their duties with objectivity, fairness and due regard to the larger public interest.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Additionally, the Solicitor presented an oral argument which drew parallels with judicial appointments and stated that if participation of outsiders is not envisaged in the appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts under the Collegium system of appointment of Judges, a similar objection cannot be raised in the context of appointments of the Election Commissioners comprising the ECI. While acknowledging that independence of the judiciary is important; it was argued that the independence of the other 2 organs is also crucial and equally important and should be respected. Further, it was argued that the Parliament, being directly accountable to the people, is competent to prescribe the composition of the Selection Committee and the 2023 Act cannot be questioned merely because it excludes the CJI or any other neutral selector from the appointment process.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Justice Dipankar Datta’s Opinion<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #c00000; color: #c00000;\">Collegium system<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">While perusing the arguments forwarded by the parties, Datta, J., took note of the oral argument made by the Solicitor drawing a parallel with the Collegium system and stated that this argument has a bearing on the on the integrity of the institution. “<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Though not too relevant for the purpose of giving an opinion on the question of whether a reference is called for, which is presently under consideration, his reference to ‘Judges appointing Judges’ seeks to revive an old criticism and, unwittingly, travels beyond the present lis<\/span>.”<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Even though the issue of judicial appointment was not connected to the context of the present matter, however, Datta, J., deemed it fit to address the issue stating that, <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">“The first instinct too, while writing this opinion, was to be reticent and let such criticism pass. But, on a second thought, it is realised that the judiciary cannot always be at the receiving end<\/span>.”<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Referring to <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Assn.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Union of India<\/span>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000018729\" target=\"_blank\">(1993) 4 SCC 441<\/a> and <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Special Reference No.1 of 1998, In re<\/span>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000026234\" target=\"_blank\">(1998) 7 SCC 739<\/a>, Datta, J., pointed out that the collegium system has faced criticism from various quarters principally on the ground that it functions without any external participation and is entirely Judge-driven, in matters concerning selection and appointment to other conditions of service like transfer. However, vociferous criticism, by itself, does not offer an alternative. While the <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">absence of an outsider in the process may invite scrutiny, executive supremacy cannot be the cure<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">It was pointed out that the Parliament’s initiative to introduce the National Judicial Appointments Commission to replace the Collegium system was not successful as the relevant constitutional amendment and the statutory provisions were found to be in breach of the basic feature of judicial independence and, thus, were declared ultra vires in <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Assn.<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Union of India<\/span>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000051751\" target=\"_blank\">(2016) 5 SCC 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Datta, J., stated that despite all its opacity and imperfections, the <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Collegium system still remains the most viable option for safeguarding independence<\/span>, as envisioned under Article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001575265\" target=\"_blank\">50<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726967\" target=\"_blank\">Constitution<\/a>. He agreed that like every other system, the Collegium must evolve to subserve the interests of all the stakeholders and must constantly reform its working to address the criticism levelled against it. “<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Criticism may be abundant, but a viable substitute being conspicuously absent, the deficiencies cannot be used as a justification to usher in participation of the executive in the Collegium deliberations<\/span>.”<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Datta, J., further went on to address the often cited “<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Judges appoint Judges<\/span>” remark and stated that the phrase is a myth which people have been fed by vested interests through motivated narratives, often drawing sustenance from certain controversial decisions taken in this century in relation to appointment of Judges. A sweeping generalisation that the Collegium acts as a law unto itself overlooks the detailed consultative process envisaged under the Constitution, and the intrinsic role of the executive as well as intelligence and other agencies in the appointment process including vetting of credentials, and the fact that every appointment bears the imprimatur of the President. <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">“<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">It has become fashionable nowadays to blame the Collegium for every infelicitous choice, conveniently forgetting that aberrations are exceptions and not the norm, and that no system can guarantee infallibility of human choice<\/span>.<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">”<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Datta, J., further clarified that the role of the Collegium, insofar as selection is concerned, is nothing more than <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">recommendatory<\/span>. At every stage prior to the recommendations taking shape, the executive is involved. Furthermore, acceptance of the recommendations is within the exclusive domain of the executive; it may or may not, accept the recommendations. The final say, rests with the executive.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">He pointed out that the system is so calibrated that the <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">executive can override the recommendation of the CJI led Collegium<\/span>, notwithstanding the precedents mandating that primacy has to be given to the opinion of the CJI. <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">On multiple occasions, recommendations have not been acted upon by the executive without reasons being disclosed<\/span> and available in the public domain; and a few of them, even after reiteration, have been left to gather dust for years. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">“If the recommendations of the Collegium of the Supreme Court were binding in nature, the same would certainly have been implemented in their entirety. Unfortunately, the records tell a different story.”<\/span> Datta, J., further pointed out that sanctity of a Collegium resolution is lost each time the executive implements it selectively, albeit approving majority of those recommended while withholding at least one.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">He concluded his observations on this issue stating that <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">since it is the executive that wields decisive control and holds the reins over appointments of Judges at every stratum<\/span>, the argument in favour of sustaining the impugned legislation by seeking to draw a parallel with the Collegium system of not having an outsider is rather disingenuous, evasive and disquieting.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-style: solid; text-underline-mode: continuous; text-underline-color: #c00000; color: #c00000;\">Vires of the 2023 Act provisions: Analysis of <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Anoop Baranwal<\/span> and Need for reference to Larger Bench?<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Datta, J., noted that it must be considered whether the scholarly opinion in <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Anoop Baranwal<\/span>, within the meaning of Article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001574872\" target=\"_blank\">141<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726967\" target=\"_blank\">Constitution<\/a>, declares a law which is binding or is it a decision which must be understood as an authority for the question it answered?<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Referring to <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Manoj Narula<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Union of India<\/span>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000050327\" target=\"_blank\">(2014) 9 SCC 1<\/a>, where Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s views on the role of the Prime Minister and the doctrine of constitutional trust were discussed, Datta, J., noted that even in the nascent years of Indian independence, <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Dr Ambedkar expressed a fear of institutional capture of the electoral process which could contribute to the failure of parliamentary democracy in India.<\/span> Datta, J., also noted that in <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Manoj Narula<\/span>, the Constitution Bench therein had reposed trust in the office of Prime Minister. Invoking Dr Ambedkar who had said that, <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">“(…) however good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be a bad lot. However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work it, happen to be a good lot.”<\/span> Datta, J., stated that experience gained over the years bears testimony to the <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">fault lying in working of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726967\" target=\"_blank\">Constitution<\/a> and not in its text.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; margin-left: 36pt; font-weight: bold;\">“Over seven decades, every dispensation wresting power found it convenient to keep institutions, which the Constitution envisioned to be independent, under their control.”<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Delving into the legislative scene prior to the enactment of the 2023 Act, Datta, J., said that to enact a law on the lines empowered by Article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001575148\" target=\"_blank\">324(2)<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726967\" target=\"_blank\">Constitution<\/a> would have meant freeing the ECI from exclusive executive control and inviting trouble for the ruling regime. “<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">A consistent trait of political power, discernible over the decades, has been to preserve leverage over the very body that is meant to judge its claim to power<\/span>.” He further noted that even after independence, not a single party in power, took the initiative of enacting a law of the nature which Article 324(2) left to the Parliament, to legislate. “<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Placing its own electoral fortunes in the hands of a truly independent arbiter was not favoured by any political party, for obvious reasons.<\/span>”<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">However, the Parliament attempted to the fill the constitutional vacuum via the 2023 Act. “Whether the 2023 Act fully answers the apprehension of the early days of our Constitution of insulating the ECI from the Government of the day or merely recalibrates executive control, is the question that would arise for examination when the writ petitions are decided on their own merits.” <\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Taking note of <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Anoop Baranwal<\/span> wherein it was held that Article 324(2) unmistakably contemplates parliamentary legislation regulating the appointment process of the CEC and the ECs. Following the view expressed in <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">T.N. Seshan<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Union of India<\/span>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0000020859\" target=\"_blank\">(1995) 4 SCC 611<\/a>, it was held in <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Anoop Baranwal<\/span> that the constitutional text did not permit such parity to be read into the provision. At the same time, considering the importance of institutional independence in a multi-member Commission, it was strongly recommended that the Parliament may consider conferring similar safeguards upon the ECs and protect their conditions of service from adverse variation after appointment.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Also read:<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/03\/02\/constitution-bench-of-sc-directs-appointment-of-cec-and-ec-on-advice-of-the-committee-consisting-of-the-pm-leader-of-opposition-and-the-cji-legal-research-legal-news-updates\/\" target=\"_blank\">Supreme Court’s Constitution bench directs appointment of CEC and EC on advise of the committee consisting of the PM, leader of opposition and the CJI<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Applauding decision in <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Anoop Baranwal<\/span>,<span style=\"font-style: italic;\"><\/span> which as per Datta, J., was a classic example of judicial statesmanship, exemplifying the concept of judicial restraint by intervening to fill the vacuum but, with due deference to the constitutional feature of separation of powers, refraining from embarking on judicial legislation; he pointed out that the Constitution Bench brought the curtains down on the 7-decade old legislative inertia, bordering on tyranny of the elected majority, in not enacting a law which the Constitution expressly and mandatorily required, and the prevailing executive dominance of keeping appointments of the CEC and the ECs in its hands, by delivering 2 major and significant outcomes while at the same time insulating itself from the charge of law-making. However, Datta, J., also pointed out that the Constitution Bench, <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">indicated a mechanism to be evolved; it did not specify one to be followed to the tee<\/span>. The Court therein avoided permanent judicial legislation, while still securing a constitutional balance. To safeguard independence, it included the CJI as a neutral arbiter; and to secure legitimacy, by keeping it within the political process, included the Prime Minister and the Leader of Opposition by ensuring their participation. “<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Seemingly alive to the Laxman Rekha of restraint to be exercised in matters of judicial legislation, the Constitution Bench consciously did not step into territory reserved by the Constitution for the Parliament, thereby avoiding a possible transgression of law<\/span>.” Thus, instead of a constitutional norm, the Court provided an interim arrangement.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">As regards the 2023 Act, Datta, J., pointed out that the legislation is within the constitutional text and cannot be challenged on the ground of legislative incompetence. He observed the petitioners’ contention that the 2023 Act dilutes the independence of the ECI and thereby violates the basic structure doctrine. Therefore, in the light thereof, the question of constitutional validity of Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001855320\" target=\"_blank\">7<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9001856444\" target=\"_blank\">2023 Act<\/a> appeared at the forefront. Datta, J., further pointed out that the Court in <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Anoop Baranwal<\/span> explains why independence demands a neutral appointment mechanism but the very language the Constitution Bench used makes it explicit that it was transient in nature and not a binding norm that Parliament was constitutionally obliged to follow. “<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">If, indeed, the Constitution Bench intended that inclusion of the CJI in the Selection Committee were binding on the Parliament, it would have said so but at the risk of being legislatively overruled<\/span>.” However,<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\"> constitution of a committee as an interim arrangement must be seen as an exercise of the Court’s power under Article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001574873\" target=\"_blank\">142<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726967\" target=\"_blank\">Constitution<\/a> as a pro tem measure<\/span>. Therefore, Datta, J., opined that the petitioners’ contention that Parliament ignored a judicial norm it was meant to follow, may not be correct.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Moving onto the vires of Sections 7, 6 and 8 and especially Section 7, Datta, J., considered whether the appointment process contemplated by Sections 7, 6 and 8(2), evinces a major executive control, passes the muster of Article 14, and whether, Section 7 in particular, meets the constitutional standard of independence required by Article 324 and the basic structure.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Perusing the petitioners’ contention that Union Minister who is nominated by the Prime Minister can never be expected to oppose the Prime Minister and take side of the Leader of Opposition; and with two members from the executive being part of the Selection Committee, the executive has an effective veto; Datta, J., found this argument to be <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">“not without valid reason”<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; margin-left: 36pt; font-weight: bold;\">“Significantly, when queried by this Court as to whether the Prime Minister’s nominee would take a stand against the Prime Minister in case of a difference of opinion between the Prime Minister and the Leader of Opposition, “probably no” was the answer of the learned Attorney although “certainly no” is what the challengers say would be the ultimate outcome.”<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Datta, J., observed that if free and fair elections are to be ensured, it is axiomatic that the ECI must not only be an independent body but also be seen to act independently. Though the 2023 Act may possibly survive the frontal challenge of not including the CJI in the selection committee, the <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">2023 Act also has to succeed on the perception test which is equally essential<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Datta, J., further considered that for the extant purpose of reference under Article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001574877\" target=\"_blank\">145(3)<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726967\" target=\"_blank\">Constitution<\/a>, is whether the challenge raises a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726967\" target=\"_blank\">Constitution<\/a> and the determination of which is necessary for disposal of the <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">lis<\/span>? <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">The constitutional character of the controversy, per se, cannot be the determinative test<\/span>. He observed that present case involves propositions relating to the constitutional imperative of free and fair elections and the necessity of the institutional independence of the ECI. The 2023 Act undoubtedly adds a new element to the canvas <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">that must be tested against the settled principles occupying the field thus far<\/span>. Such an exercise, however, is materially different from saying that the constitutional principles themselves remain unsettled.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Conclusions formed by Dipankar Datta, J.<\/p>\n<ol style=\"list-style-type: decimal;\">\n<li>\n<p>With the aforestated analysis, Datta, J., concluded that Precedents having laid down in unmistakable terms that free and fair elections are a basic feature of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726967\" target=\"_blank\">Constitution<\/a> and that the ECI should be insulated from exclusive executive control in relation to appointments of the CEC and the ECs, <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">what remains is no more than the application of the settled principles of law to the facts of the case.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Neither any constitutional bar nor a precedent precludes hearing of these petitions by the present Bench<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Prima facie opinion expressed hereinabove is confined to consideration of the prayer for a reference and does not entail any expression qua the merits of the final challenge laid in the petitions before the Court.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Thus, the prayer by the respondents to refer the matter to a larger bench was rejected.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">[<span style=\"font-weight: bold; color: #632423;\">Dr. Jaya Thakur v. Union of India, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9003873948\" target=\"_blank\">2026 SCC OnLine SC 1980<\/a>, decided on 23-9-2026<\/span>]<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Advocates who appeared in this case:<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">For Petitioner(s):<\/span> Mr. Prashant Bhushan, AOR Ms. Alice Raj, Adv. Mr. Rahul Gupta, Adv. Ms. Neha Rathi, Adv. Ms. Suroor Mander, Adv. Mr. Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Sr. Adv. Mr. Gaurav Kumar, Adv. Mr. Vishal Sinha, Adv. Mr. Pawan Reley, AOR Mr. Akshay Lodhi, Adv. Mr. Naman Sherstra, Adv. Mr. Sanjiv Mishara, Adv. Mr. Adit Jayeshbhai Shah, Adv. Mr. Mukesh Kumar Thalour, Adv. Ms. Simran Singh, Adv. Mr. Tanish Rawat, Adv. Mr. Prakhar Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Vijay Hansariya, Sr. Adv. Mr. Varun Thakur, Adv. Mr. Ramkaran, Adv. Mrs. Shraddha Saran, Adv. Ms. Tanuj Bagga Sharma, Adv. Dr. M K Ravi, Adv. Mr. S P Singh, Adv. M\/S. Varun Thakur & Associates, AOR Mr. Sanjeev Malhotra, AOR, Petitioner-in-person, Mr. Sanjay Parikh, Sr. Adv. Ms. Maulshree Pathak, AOR<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">For Respondent(s):<\/span> Mr. R. Venkataramani, A.G. Mr. Tushar Mehta, S.G. Mr. Raghvendra P. Shankar, Adv. Mr. Gurmeet Singh Makker, AOR Mr. Gaurang Bhushan, Adv. Mr. Aman Mehta, Adv. Mr. Kartikeya Agarwal, Adv. Dr. N. Visakamurthy, AOR Mr. Prateek Kumar, AOR Mr. Devansh Rai, Adv. Mr. Vishvajit Goyal, Adv. Mr. Birjesh Kumar Gupta, Adv. Mr. Dinesh Kumar Mudgal, Adv. Mr. Anupam Kumar, Adv. Mr. R. P. Gupta, AOR Mr. Prashant Padmanabhan, AOR Mr. Kaleeswaram Raj, Adv. Mrs. Thulasi K Raj, Adv. Ms. Chinnu Maria Antony, Adv. Ms. Athira Nandakumar, Adv. Ms. Smita Amratlal Vora, AOR Mr. Kaleeswaram Raj, Adv. Mr. Mohammed Sadique T.A., AOR Ms. Thulasi K Raj, Adv. Ms. Chinnu Maria Antony, Adv. Ms. Athira Nandakumar, Adv. Mr. Aman Prasad, Adv. Mr. Sadashiv, AOR Mr. Gautam Barnwal, Adv. Ms. Vandana, Adv. Mr. Devendra Kumar Gupta, Adv. Mr. Mohd Shafat Ahamad, Adv. Mr. Mr Arafat Ahmad, Adv. Ms. Mumtaz Jawed Shaikh, Adv. Ms. Sakshi Singh, Adv. Mr. Ashish Kumar Pandey, Adv. Mr. Manoj Pandey, Adv. Mr. Pradeep Kr. Rai, Sr. Adv. Ms. Modoyia Kayima, Adv. Mr. Vinay Kumar Rai, Adv. Mrs. Rajshree Rai, Adv. Mr. Saif Rizvi, Adv. Mr. Shivam Tyagi, Adv. Mr. Paras Chauhan, Adv. M\/S. R And R Law Associates, AOR Mr. Shadan Farasat, Sr. Adv. Mr. Talha Abdul Rahman, AOR Mr. Harshit Anand, Adv. Mr. Kaustubh Chaturvedi, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Babbar, Adv. Mr. Sudhanshu Tewari, Adv. Mr. Faizan Ahmed, Adv. Ms. Vibha Swaminathan, Adv.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">While opining that the challenge to the EC Act, 2023 does not merit reference to larger Bench, Justice Datta also remarked on the nuances and challenges of the Collegium System to appoint High Court and Supreme Court 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Girimaji Joins S&R Associates as Partner in Bengaluru"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">S & R Associates are pleased to announce that Swathi Girimaji has joined S&R Associates as a partner in the Firm’s Bengaluru office, and is joined by associates Bhanusri S., Theertha Aiyappa, Poorna Shree A. and Madhav Sirohi.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Swathi Girimaji’s practice covers mergers and acquisitions, venture capital investments, private equity and general corporate matters, including significant experience in the technology, education, health tech, fintech and consumer sectors. Swathi received a B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) from University Law College, Bengaluru in 2010 and an LL.M. from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2011. Her prior experience includes working with Bharucha & Partners in Bengaluru, where she was a partner.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">S&R Associates has offices in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru with approximately 170 lawyers, including 44 partners and counsel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">Swathi Girimaji’s practice covers mergers and acquisitions, venture capital investments, private equity and general corporate matters, including significant experience in the technology, education, health tech, fintech and consumer 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Solidarity March Report: Reclaiming Public Spaces by Women of NLUD"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">30 September 2026, National Law University Delhi<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">In the wake of agitation for women’s safety across the national capital, students of National Law University Delhi stood up for a solidarity march for “<span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Reclaiming Public Spaces”.<\/span> Held in the evening hours on 30 September 2026, the solidarity march saw a large student turnout across the B.A.LLB (Hons.) and the LLM Batches, along with a supportive participation of faculty members.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The students marched around the campus with posters carrying messages on gender equality, social satires and pledges for anti-discrimination. Slogans for gender equality, women’s safety and freedom from patriarchy were raised within the campus as a means of demonstration.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Later, Kushal Pal Singh , IPS, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Dwarka district, along with Sunil Kumar, SHO, Dwarka, addressed the students’ concerns. Female students raised persistent complaints about absence of street lights, lack of a woman POC, and the need for patrolling around the campus which is straddled by dark streets. Problems related to a liquor shop around the campus, which constrains access to the nearest metro station ( Dwarka Sector 14) were also raised.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Although no final accountability for the street lights was reached, the SHO assured students of setting up a police booth abutting the campus by 15th October 2026 and guaranteed patrolling around the campus, including the adjacent parks and roads.<\/p>\n<p>To conclude the march, the students undertook a walk around the campus streets, switching on their mobile flashlights to combat the darkness of the streets. As the collective demonstrations for women’s safety and freedom continue to demand accountability across Delhi, members of NLU Delhi community remain committed to the cause.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">-Kanishka Mittal,<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">Year III, B.A. LL.B. (Hons.)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 3%;\">National Law University, Delhi<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; margin-bottom: 3%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16_Student-Solidarity-March-Report-SCC-Times_RECLAIMING-PUBLIC-SPACES-BY-WOMEN-OF-NLUD-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"667\" height=\"500\"\/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; margin-bottom: 3%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16_Student-Solidarity-March-Report-SCC-Times_RECLAIMING-PUBLIC-SPACES-BY-WOMEN-OF-NLUD-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"667\" height=\"500\"\/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; margin-bottom: 3%;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16_Student-Solidarity-March-Report-SCC-Times_RECLAIMING-PUBLIC-SPACES-BY-WOMEN-OF-NLUD-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"667\" height=\"500\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">Students of National Law University Delhi organised a solidarity march titled “Reclaiming Public Spaces” on 30 September 2026, raising concerns regarding women’s safety, inadequate street lighting, police patrolling and accessibility around the campus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67011,"featured_media":397753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,22],"tags":[98882,116173,116174,116175,32382,50820,42222,115902,116172,116170,116171,116176,116177,101956,116169],"class_list":["post-397742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lawschoolnews","category-others","tag-campus-safety","tag-delhi-women-safety","tag-dwarka-dcp","tag-dwarka-police","tag-gender-equality","tag-national-law-university-delhi","tag-nlu-delhi","tag-police-patrolling","tag-public-spaces","tag-reclaiming-public-spaces","tag-solidarity-march","tag-street-lighting","tag-student-activism","tag-student-protest","tag-womens-safety"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>NLU 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in Mediation: Experts explore who is responsible for inculcating trust in mediation at the Commercial Mediation Conclave 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Commercial Mediation Conclave 2026, themed <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">“Making Mediation Mainstream”<\/span> and organised by The PACT and Poovaya & Co, was held on 18 September 2026 at the India International Centre, New Delhi. Among its sessions was a fireside chat titled <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">“Trust in Mediation – Who is Responsible?”<\/span>, moderated by <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Mr.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Jonathan Rodrigues<\/span>, Mediator and Partner, The PACT, with <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Ms.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Anuradha Mukherjee<\/span>, Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Dr. Aman Hingorani<\/span>, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, and<span style=\"font-weight: bold;\"> Mr.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Ajit Kumar Mishra<\/span>, Director, Works, IRCON International Ltd. The conversation moved between the perspectives of a disputes lawyer, a mediator and trainer, and a government contracting authority, and returned repeatedly to the question of where responsibility for trust actually lies.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15_Trust-in-Mediation-Who-is-Responsible_1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"400\"\/><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">[In frame: Mr. Jonathan Rodrigues<\/span>, <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Mr. Ajit Kumar Mishra<\/span>, <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Dr. Aman Hingorani, and Ms. Anuradha Mukherjee]<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">Trust as trust in the process<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Opening the discussion, <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Mr. Rodrigues<\/span> observed that mediation is often taken for granted precisely because its selling points sound self evidently attractive. It is voluntary, confidential, the parties choose their own neutral, and they retain control over the outcome. Yet, he noted, this apparent common sense has not translated into widespread take up, and he put the question to the panel directly, asking whether the trust deficit lay in mediators themselves, in mediation as a process, in mediation institutions, or in the mediation settlement agreement that eventually results.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Ms. Anuradha Mukherjee<\/span> answered that all of these ultimately reduce to trust in the process. She explained that the process encompasses the mediator, the time the mediator is prepared to commit, and the confidentiality of the exercise, and that parties enter mediation having given their consent but without the experience litigants bring to an adversarial hearing. Unlike arbitration, she said, parties in mediation come in cold, and it falls to the process itself to show them that it is fair, that their concerns will be heard, and that the mediator will set realistic expectations about the difference between what a party might obtain through an adversarial process and what it may ultimately settle for in mediation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; margin-left: 36pt; text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">“It is the job of the mediator to inspire trust from the parties, towards the mediator and towards the process.”<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Mr. Rodrigues suggested this pointed to a more specific problem, the absence of structure. He recalled that an earlier session at the conclave that day, in remarks attributed to <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Mr. Ajay Thomas<\/span>, had observed that most mediation experience in India is unstructured, with mediators conducting several sessions back to back after lunch, working through tired and emotionally drained parties with no fixed sense of how the process would conclude.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Ms. Mukherjee agreed that certainty is often missing within a given mediation, but argued that a credible process compensates for this over time. Parties do not necessarily come to mediation only at the start of a dispute. They may enter mediation while litigation is already under way, at a stage when a party is recalibrating its position in a commercial matter, and even where an early attempt at mediation does not succeed, a party that found the process itself trustworthy is likely to return to it later, including midway through a trial.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">A thirty-year dispute and the credibility of the process<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Ms. Mukherjee illustrated this with a mediation she had been involved in through Samadhan, in which a family and commercial dispute dating back to the 1970s, and running to nearly thirty years of litigation among the same family members, was finally resolved. She described a mediator whose dedication to hearing every one of the several parties, over sessions that sometimes ran past nine in the evening, to the point that the Registrar of the High Court asked them to vacate the building, eventually brought the dispute to a close.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; margin-left: 36pt; text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">“So there is a process, but then that mediator had taken the process on himself to go that extra mile.”<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Mr. Rodrigues linked the anecdote to what mediators sometimes call the satisfaction triangle, comprising psychological satisfaction, outcome satisfaction and process satisfaction, and observed that parties who have a good experience of the process, even without an immediate settlement, are more likely to return to mediation later.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15_Trust-in-Mediation-Who-is-Responsible_2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"586\" height=\"390\"\/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">Government as litigant, and the fear of the audit<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Turning to <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Mr.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Ajit Kumar Mishra<\/span>, who handles large government infrastructure contracts running into crores of rupees, Mr Rodrigues noted that an earlier conversation that day had suggested government officials were becoming more receptive to mediation where a clear protocol existed and settlement was institutionally encouraged.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Mr. Mishra agreed that government has historically been the largest litigant, and that mediation, unlike older informal settlement practices, arrived in a structured statutory form that was initially unfamiliar to government contracting. He located the trust problem at two levels: <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">“The trust, first, is at the mediation table itself, among the parties, the mediator and the institution. The second trust is in the outcome, in whatever mediation settlement agreement we are having.”<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The first level, he explained, is at the mediation table itself, among the parties, the mediator and the institution administering the process. The second, and in his account the more difficult one, concerns the outcome. Where government is a party, any settlement remains open to audit and scrutiny for years afterwards, and the official who agreed to it may have to defend the decision long after the fact.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">He illustrated this with an example he suggested was close to the real experience of government officers. A contractor’s claim of ₹500 crore is settled at ₹200 crore. On its face this appears to be a sound commercial outcome, saving the government ₹300 crore. An auditor reviewing the file years later may instead ask why the claim was conceded at all, given that the government had argued throughout the life of the project that it owed the contractor nothing. Settling therefore invites the question of whether the ₹200 crore can be defended, not whether ₹300 crore was saved.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Mr. Mishra added that if a settlement required documentary justification for every rupee, in the way a court judgment does, it would in effect no longer be mediation but adjudication by another name. Parties settle in mediation precisely because they lack that kind of evidence for every element of their position, and because the outcome may serve a broader commercial or reputational interest that cannot easily be quantified.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">He also described how authority is structured within government departments. An officer negotiating on behalf of the government has authority only up to a defined level, fixed by standard operating procedure. Beyond that level, the matter must go to a superior, who may in turn convene a committee. The eventual settlement therefore reflects a collective, reasoned judgment by several officers rather than the evidence based justification of a single figure, and Mr Mishra suggested that this collective process works better within a government system than one that expects the same evidentiary rigour as adjudication.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Mr. Rodrigues summarised the exchange as showing that, in a government context, the deficit of trust lies less in the mediation table itself than in the ability to execute and stand behind the eventual outcome.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15_Trust-in-Mediation-Who-is-Responsible_3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"529\" height=\"450\"\/><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; text-align: center; font-style: italic;\">[in frame: Dr. Aman Hingorani]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">The mediator’s responsibility to build trust in the process<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Mr. Rodrigues then asked <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Dr. Aman Hingorani<\/span>, drawing on his long experience as a trainer and mediator, at what point in a mediation he could tell that the parties had come to trust him.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Dr. Hingorani answered that inspiring trust, in the mediator and in the process, is the mediator’s own responsibility at every stage, from a pre-mediation analysis of the dispute, through the opening statement, which he described as a conversational roadmap for the parties, to private caucus sessions. He drew a careful distinction. <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">It is not the mediator’s role to build trust between the parties themselves, who arrive with an existing conflict and are unlikely to expose their vulnerabilities to a third party on that basis. The mediator’s task is instead to build trust in the process, through even handedness, neutral conduct and consistent, careful use of language from the outset.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">He also distinguished between disputes that are purely transactional, in his words a cold, bloody business decision, where a party simply wants to cut its losses and redeploy the money, and disputes that present as commercial but carry a strong emotional undercurrent, arising from a perceived slight, a broken relationship or a loss of face. In his view it is the mediator’s job to work through that emotional cycle and help the party move past it, whatever theoretical model of mediation is being followed, because in practice the outcome depends heavily on the individual mediator’s own skill.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Dr. Hingorani connected this to a mediator’s listening and reflective skills, and to the importance of parties feeling that the process, and the outcome, belong to them, which he said is what makes a settlement durable. He illustrated the range of outcomes mediation can produce, compared with the single binary result of litigation or arbitration, with an example of a mediation arising from the prosecution of a multinational company for using polythene bags under environmental protection legislation, which resolved with the government agreeing to drop the prosecution in exchange for a substantial contribution by the company to an environmental protection fund. He agreed with Mr. Mishra’s point about the reluctance of government officers to take responsibility for a settlement, observing that many would rather obtain an unfavourable court ruling and attribute the outcome to the court than take a personal position on whether to settle.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">Changing an institutional mindset<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Dr. Hingorani described training programmes he runs for government departments, public sector undertakings and banks, roughly twenty ongoing programmes aimed at senior officers, built around a simple proposition, that there is little reason to litigate a matter that can instead be resolved by direct engagement with the other side. He illustrated the scale of the mindset shift required with an anecdote about a general counsel of a large company, put to him three years earlier, who responded to a suggestion that the company introduce workplace mediation by saying that if any employee sued the company, the company would simply counter sue.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; margin-left: 36pt; text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">“If any of the employees sue us, we will just sue them back and we will ruin their lives.”<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Dr. Hingorani recalled being sufficiently taken aback that he did not immediately know how to continue the conversation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15_Trust-in-Mediation-Who-is-Responsible_4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; text-align: center; font-style: italic;\">[In frame: Ms. Anuradha Mukherjee]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">Choosing a mediator for a technical dispute<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Returning to Ms. Mukherjee, Mr. Rodrigues asked what a disputes lawyer looks for when selecting a mediator, whether credentials, reputation, certification or accreditation, and, more pointedly, whether she would be comfortable choosing a mediator who is not a lawyer for a technical dispute.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Ms. Mukherjee said that in a high value commercial dispute with genuine technical content, clients generally prefer a mediator who understands the technical nuances involved, since trust depends not only on the mediator’s neutrality but on both parties feeling that their issues, however technical, have genuinely been understood. She also stressed the importance of a mediator who comes to the mediation properly prepared, rather than one hearing the dispute for the first time on the day.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">She recalled a mediation between an Indian company and a Canadian company, both multinationals, where a reputed Canadian mediator gave the parties a date some six months out. Rather than treating this as a drawback, she described it as an advantage. The mediator allocated three dedicated days, required brief written statements of the issues in advance, and asked the parties to identify any experts whose evidence he might need to consider. In the intervening six months the parties prepared thoroughly, so that by the time they appeared before the mediator, both the parties and the mediator understood the subject matter, and the parties, having invested real time and money in the process, were more open to considering possibilities beyond their original claims. She contrasted this with a mediator who simply asks the lawyers to present the case on the day, where each side is still focused on advancing its own narrative rather than genuinely considering settlement, and where sessions can become protracted precisely because the mediator has not set aside sufficient time.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Mr. Rodrigues observed that Ms. Mukherjee’s account pointed to a distinction between merely appearing to listen and genuinely understanding a party’s position, noting that a client can generally tell the difference even where a mediator’s listening technique looks the same in both cases.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">What an institutional client expects of a mediator<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Mr. Rodrigues then asked Mr. Mishra, as someone who effectively occupies the position of the client within a government mediation, what mediators in India would need to do to earn his trust early enough in a dispute to be considered before the matter escalates.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Mr. Mishra set out three requirements. First, the mediator needs experience or knowledge of the subject matter of the dispute, to properly understand the nature of the case. Second, and in his view more important, the mediator needs to understand the institutional constraints under which a government party operates, such as the bureaucratic hurdles that distinguish a government department from a private party where a single individual can simply agree to a deal. Third, the mediator must demonstrate an understanding of the process itself and personal integrity, so that Mr. Mishra can trust the process as a whole.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15_Trust-in-Mediation-Who-is-Responsible_5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"566\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; text-align: center; font-style: italic;\">[In frame: Mr. Ajit Kumar Mishra]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">Can trust be rebuilt once it has already broken down<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Mr. Rodrigues put a broader question to Dr. Hingorani. By the time a dispute reaches mediation, the parties have typically already been asked to trust each other at the time of contracting, then to trust the litigation system once the dispute arose, and finally to trust the mediator and the mediation process itself. Given that trust has effectively already been asked for, and lost, several times over, he asked whether a mediator genuinely retains the capacity to build trust at that late stage, in the process, in the mediator personally, and among the parties themselves.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Dr. Hingorani reiterated his earlier distinction, that it is the mediator’s task to build trust in the mediator and in the process, not to manufacture trust between the parties themselves, adding that this remained his view after decades of practice as a court annexed mediator. He went on to recall his experience of mediating intellectual property disputes before returning to the question of the ethical limits on a mediator’s own competence.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">Competence, disclosure and the limits of a mediator’s role<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Dr. Hingorani said a mediator should not accept a case outside their subject matter expertise merely because they consider themselves a good listener, and described the practice of disclosing this to the parties at the outset, offering to step aside in favour of another mediator if the parties wish, while making clear that the parties’ own lawyers remain available to help identify and frame the issues.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">He illustrated the point with a case he had co-mediated in Scotland through a mediation clinic, involving a medical negligence dispute. His co mediator, after a week of preparation, called him the day before the mediation was due to begin to say she could not continue.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; margin-left: 36pt; text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">“I’m not going to do this with you anymore, I have to back out.”<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">She explained that she had her own past experience of a medical negligence situation that the case had brought back to the surface, and that although she had believed she could work through it, she recognised the night before that she was not in a position to mediate impartially. The mediation had to be rescheduled with a new co-mediator. Dr. Hingorani used the episode to make a wider point, that had she not disclosed this and continued regardless, the parties would have been sitting before a mediator carrying an undisclosed bias, and it is exactly this kind of undisclosed conflict that erodes trust.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">On the more technical requirements of a mediator’s work, Dr. Hingorani said that drafting a settlement agreement capable of being enforced as though it were a decree of a court is a legal skill that a mediator without legal training may not be equipped to provide.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; margin-left: 36pt; text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">“Who will do what, in how much time, in what manner. It has to be executed.”<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">He also described how the underlying dynamic of communication changes between an adversarial process and mediation. In an adversarial process, he said, direct communication between the parties dries up, each side retreating to its own lawyer, with a third party eventually deciding the matter, and the social and relational context of the dispute effectively set aside. Mediation, by contrast, restores that social context and requires the parties themselves to take the decision, which places a premium on the mediator’s own communication skills. He referred to the commonly cited estimate that the substantial majority of communication is conveyed through body language and tone, with only a small proportion carried by the words themselves, and argued that mediation is best understood as an interdisciplinary practice, drawing on behavioural science and psychology as much as on law, built on the rapport and goodwill a mediator is able to establish with the parties.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Mr. Rodrigues agreed with Dr. Hingorani’s characterisation of mediation as an interdisciplinary, ethically inflected practice, and observed that India has comparatively little debate about a multidisciplinary ethical code of conduct for mediators, noting that professional obligations, such as restrictions on soliciting work, that bind lawyers do not necessarily extend to other professionals who may also come to act as mediators.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">Representing the weaker side<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Taking a question from the floor, Mr. Rodrigues invited a member of the audience to speak. Part of the question was not clearly audible in the recording, but its substance, addressed to the panel’s disputes lawyers, was how counsel representing the weaker party in a dispute should approach a proposal to go to mediation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Ms. Mukherjee said that, in her experience, the most effective time to attempt mediation is often not at the outset of a dispute, when the parties remain heavily invested in their positions, but somewhere in the middle of the process, whether shortly before trial, once documentary evidence has been exchanged, or when counsel is reviewing the evidence directly with the client. It is at that point, she said, that a realistic assessment of the strength and quality of the evidence tends to happen, and clients become more receptive to reconsidering their position, sometimes assisted by a degree of litigation fatigue built up over a long running dispute.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">She rejected the idea that approaching the other side to explore settlement is a sign of weakness, a concern she said clients often raise directly, worrying that it might look as though they believe they are losing.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; margin-left: 36pt; text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">“I don’t believe there is a weakness in reaching out to the other side to say, can we talk?”<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">In her view, it is for the lawyer, rather than the mediator, who is not part of the client relationship in the same way, to judge what is genuinely in the client’s interest and to advise the client honestly when it may be time to reconsider its position, while making clear that if a settlement proves unsatisfactory, the client remains free to continue to litigate. She described this as an ongoing duty owed to the client throughout the life of the dispute, rather than a single decision taken at one point in time.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15_Trust-in-Mediation-Who-is-Responsible_6.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center; font-weight: bold;\">Closing Remarks<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Bringing the session to a close, Mr. Rodrigues thanked the panellists for their time and their candour.<\/span> The discussion left an ambivalent but consistent answer to its own title. Responsibility for trust in mediation did not settle on any single actor. Ms. Mukherjee located it substantially in the credibility of the process itself, sustained by mediators willing to invest the time a dispute genuinely requires. Dr. Hingorani placed it squarely on the mediator, whose conduct, competence and disclosure at every stage determine whether trust in the process, though not necessarily between the parties, can be established at all. Mr Mishra’s account suggested that for an institutional party such as government, trust depends as much on the ability to defend and execute an outcome after the fact as on anything that happens at the mediation table itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">At the Commercial Mediation Conclave 2026, curated and hosted by The PACT, a fireside chat brought together a mediator, a disputes lawyer, a court annexed mediator and trainer, and a government infrastructure executive to examine where trust in mediation actually resides, whether it is a matter for the mediator, the parties, their counsel or the institutions that administer the process, and whether that trust can be built, or rebuilt, once a dispute has already hardened into an adversarial contest. This session was held in partnership with Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67011,"featured_media":397721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107244,97664,114903],"tags":[116140,116139,116077,54107,115286,116143,116141,59937,114762,115268,116148,3740,61792,116136,116144,106325,116145,31345,116138,116146,116149,116137,116142,116147],"class_list":["post-397720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-domestic","category-events-collaborations","category-mci-the-pact-poovayya-commercial-mediation-conclave","tag-ajit-kumar-mishra","tag-anuradha-mukherjee","tag-business-relations","tag-commercial-mediation","tag-commercial-mediation-conclave-2026","tag-creduibility-of-mediation","tag-dr-aman-hingorani","tag-institutional-mediation","tag-jonathan-rodrigues","tag-making-mediation-mainstream","tag-mci-2026-the-conclave","tag-mediation","tag-mediation-act-2023","tag-mediation-confidentiality","tag-mediation-satisfaction-triangle","tag-mediation-settlement","tag-mediation-with-government-party","tag-mediator","tag-mediators-responsibility","tag-mediators-role","tag-the-pact-povayya-mediation-conclave","tag-trust-in-mediation","tag-trust-in-mediator","tag-workplace-mediation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- 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Nadu extends 365-day opening for shops and establishments with employee safeguards"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">On 24 August 2026, the Government of Tamil Nadu issued a notification permitting all shops and establishments in the State to remain open on all 365 days of the year for a further period of three years.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Key Takeaways:<\/p>\n<ol style=\"list-style-type: decimal;\">\n<li>\n<p>All shops and establishments in Tamil Nadu have been permitted to remain open on all <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">365 days<\/span> of the year for a further period of three years.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>The notification has been issued under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001669344\" target=\"_blank\">6<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000730893\" target=\"_blank\">Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, 1947<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>The exemption has been granted from the provisions of Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001669297\" target=\"_blank\">11(1)<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000730893\" target=\"_blank\">Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, 1947<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Every employee must be given one weekly holiday on a rotation basis.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Employee details and weekly holiday schedules must be displayed in the prescribed format at the establishment.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Wages, including overtime wages, must be credited directly to employees’ bank accounts.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Employees cannot be required or allowed to work for more than:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: disc;\">\n<li>\n<p>8 hours a day or 48 hours a week; and<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>10.5 hours a day or 57 hours a week, including overtime.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Employers may face <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">penal action<\/span> if employees are made to work on holidays or beyond normal working hours without proper overtime authorization.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>The notification prescribes the following safeguards for women employees:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: disc;\">\n<li>\n<p>Women employees cannot ordinarily be required to work <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">beyond 8:00 PM<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Women may work between <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">8:00 PM and 6:00 AM<\/span> only with written consent and adequate safeguards for dignity, safety and security.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Employers must provide <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">transport facilities<\/span> to women employees working in shifts.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Establishments availing the exemption must comply with the following workplace welfare and statutory requirements:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: disc;\">\n<li>\n<p>Employers must provide restrooms, washrooms, safety lockers and other basic amenities.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Every establishment employing women must constitute an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002829234\" target=\"_blank\">Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Violation of statutory provisions or notification conditions may attract penal action under the Act and Rules.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The prescribed conditions are in addition to the requirements under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-9000730893\" target=\"_blank\">Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, 1947<\/a> and the Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Rules, 1948.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Also read:<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/search\/shops%20and%20establishments\" target=\"_blank\">Key updates on Shops and Establishments regulations across various States.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">[Tamil Nadu Labour Welfare and Skill Development Department Notification, dated 24-08-2026]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">Tamil Nadu has extended the exemption allowing shops and establishments to remain open throughout the year for a further period of three years, subject to employee welfare, working-hour and safety safeguards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67525,"featured_media":397704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,1193],"tags":[116123,44522,116127,116128,116122,116129,116126,116130,69471,116121,116125,116124],"class_list":["post-397703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legislationupdates","category-notifications","tag-employee-welfare-conditions-tamil-nadu","tag-internal-complaints-committee","tag-retail-establishments-tamil-nadu","tag-shops-and-establishments-compliance","tag-shops-and-establishments-exemption","tag-shops-open-365-days-tamil-nadu","tag-tamil-nadu-labour-notification-2026","tag-tamil-nadu-shop-opening-exemption","tag-tamil-nadu-shops","tag-tamil-nadu-shops-and-establishments-act-1947","tag-weekly-holiday-requirement","tag-women-employee-night-shift-rules"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the 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eligibility for coal mining long service leave depend on the employer’s business or the employee’s work? Australia HC answers in 3:2 ruling"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Australia High Court:<\/span> In a significant ruling on the scope of the coal industry’s portable long service leave scheme, <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Gageler CJ*, Jagot*, Gordon**<\/span>, <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Steward***<\/span> and <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Gleeson***<\/span>, JJ., by a 3:2 majority, held that eligibility may depend on the nature and location of an employee’s work rather than the business carried on by the employer. The Court ruled that employees performing shotfiring work at black coal mines were not excluded from the statutory scheme merely because their employer was not otherwise engaged in the black coal mining industry, clarifying the operation of the employer limb and location limb in the definition of “eligible employee” under the Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Administration Act 1992 (the Administration Act).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Background<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The appellant, Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave Funding) Corporation, is a statutory corporation established under the Administration Act. One principal object of the said Act is to provide long service leave entitlements to “eligible employees” by reference to their qualifying service for one or more employers and to establish and maintain the Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Fund, from which employers are reimbursed for long service leave payments made to eligible employees.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The respondent, Orica Australia Pty Ltd (Orica), employed shotfirers who worked at open-cut black coal mines in New South Wales and Queensland. Shotfiring involved placing high-powered explosives in holes in the ground which, when detonated, exposed a black coal seam and enabled extraction of black coal. A dispute arose between the Corporation and Orica as to whether Orica’s shotfirers were “eligible employees” under the Administration Act. The resolution of the dispute depended upon the proper construction of the definitions of “eligible employee” and “black coal mining industry” in Section 4(1) of the Administration Act.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Before the primary judge, it was not disputed that Orica’s shotfirers performed their duties at black coal mines and that their duties were directly connected with the day-to-day operation of a black coal mine. The primary judge held that Orica’s shotfirers were “eligible employees”. On appeal, the Full Court of the Federal Court held that Orica’s shotfirers were not “eligible employees”, except during the period in which Orica operated the Minova business. The Corporation appealed to the High Court.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Analysis, Law and Decision<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;\">Majority Opinion (Gageler CJ and Jagot J, with Gordon J agreeing)<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The majority held that since the enactment of the Administration Act, the definition of “eligible employee” had contained two distinct and bifurcated limbs: an employer limb and a location limb. The employer limb required that an employee be employed in the black coal mining industry by an employer engaged in the black coal mining industry, whereas the location limb required that an employee be employed in the black coal mining industry and perform duties at or about a place where black coal is mined that are directly connected with the day-to-day operation of a black coal mine.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court considered it significant that the words “by an employer engaged in the black coal mining industry” appeared only in the employer limb and were absent from the location limb. According to the Court, the phrase “employed in the black coal mining industry” referred to the nature of the activities carried out by the employee and not the substantial industrial or business character of the employer’s activities. The substantial character of the employer’s business was relevant only to the employer limb.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Examining the history of the Administration Act, the portable long service leave scheme and the award-modernisation process, the Court held that the location limb had always operated independently of the status of the employer and that employees must be able to move between employers and between the two limbs without interrupting the accrual of qualifying service. Further, the Court held that clause 4.3(g), excluding “the supply of shotfiring or other explosive services by an employer not otherwise engaged in the black coal mining industry”, was directed only to the employer limb. Applying the clause to the location limb would collapse the distinction between the two limbs and undermine a fundamental feature of the Administration Act.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Accordingly, the Court concluded that Orica’s shotfirers, whose duties were carried out at or about a place where black coal was mined and were directly connected with the day-to-day operation of a black coal mine, were “eligible employees” under the location limb.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;\">Justice Gordon (Concurring opinion)<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Gordon J., agreed with the orders proposed by the majority and likewise concluded that clause 4.3(g) did not apply to the location limb. Her Honour placed particular emphasis on the deliberate uncoupling of an employee’s activities from the industry of the employer. Gordon J., observed that both the Administration Act and the award-modernisation process deliberately adopted a structure under which an employee could qualify under the location limb regardless of whether the employer was engaged in the black coal mining industry. According to Gordon J., the corollary of that structure was that an employee may be “employed in the black coal mining industry” even though the employer was not “engaged in” that industry.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Gordon J., further held that clause 4.3(g) was concerned with whether an employer was engaged in the black coal mining industry and therefore operated only in relation to the employer limb. Applying the exclusion to the location limb would make the employer’s status relevant to a provision that was intentionally designed to operate independently of that status.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;\">Justice Steward (Dissenting Opinion)<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Steward J., considered that the text and history of the relevant legislation and the Award compelled the conclusion that Orica’s shotfirers were not employed in the black coal mining industry after 28 February 2022. Steward J., placed considerable reliance on the history of <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific Ltd<\/span>, (Dyno Nobel) in which the Australian Industrial Relations Commission held that Dyno Nobel’s business had its substantial character in the explosives industry rather than the coal industry. Steward J., considered that clause 4.3(g) was inserted into the Award specifically to address that issue and to preserve that outcome.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">According to Steward J., clause 4.3(g) plainly referred to the supply of shotfiring services by enterprises in the explosives industry, such as <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Dyno Nobel<\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">(supra)<\/span>. Therefore, the clause excluded such activities from the black coal mining industry. On that construction, Orica shotfirers were excluded from the operation of the long service leave scheme unless Orica was otherwise engaged in the black coal mining industry through the Minova business.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;\">Justice Gleeson (Dissenting Opinion)<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Gleeson, J., considered that the definition of “black coal mining industry” adopted in the Administration Act incorporated both the included activities in clause 4.2 and the exclusions in clause 4.3 of the Award. Gleeson J., rejected the view that clause 4.3(g) operated solely in relation to employers. Once clause 4.3(g) was read into the definition of “black coal mining industry”, a person employed in the supply of shotfiring services by an employer not otherwise engaged in the black coal mining industry was not employed in the black coal mining industry for the purposes of the location limb.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">Gleeson J., considered that the award-modernisation history demonstrated an intention to preserve the position established by <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Dyno Nobel<\/span> <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">(supra)<\/span> and to exclude providers of specialist shotfiring services from the black coal mining industry, while treating Orica and <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Dyno Nobel (supra)<\/span> consistently.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Decision<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">By a 3:2 majority, the High Court allowed the appeal and dismissed the cross-appeal. The Court held that clause 4.3(g) applied only to the employer limb and that Orica’s shotfiring employees were “eligible employees” under the location limb of the Administration Act.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">[<span style=\"font-weight: bold; color: #632423;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave Funding) Corporation v. Orica Australia Pty Ltd, [2026] HCA 30, decided on 9-9-2026<\/span><\/span>]<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; text-indent: 18pt; border: 2px solid black; border-radius: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; background-color: #DCDCDC;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000080;\">*Judgment authored by- Chief Justice Gageler and Justice Jagot<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; text-indent: 18pt; border: 2px solid black; border-radius: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; background-color: #DCDCDC;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000080;\">** Concurring Judgment by- Justice Gordon<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; text-indent: 18pt; border: 2px solid black; border-radius: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; background-color: #DCDCDC;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000080;\">*** Dissenting Opinion by- Justice Steward and Justice Gleeson<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Advocates who appeared in this case:<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\">NC Hutley SC with JR Clarke SC and TJ Kane for the appellant (instructed by Corrs Chambers Westgarth).<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\">JD McKenna KC with DK Fuller for the respondent (instructed by MinterEllison).<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\">CJ Tran with AM Sage for the Mining and Energy Union, intervening.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\">JE Murdoch KC with TA Spence for Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific Pty Limited, intervening.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">In the present case, a dispute arose as to whether Orica shotfirers working at black coal mines were “eligible employees” under the coal industry’s portable long service leave scheme. The dispute turned on the interpretation of the statutory definition of “eligible employee” and the operation of an exclusion relating to shotfiring services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67520,"featured_media":397693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[104679,116110,116114,116115,116111,116112,116108,116116,116109,116113,87167],"class_list":["post-397692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-foreigncourts","tag-australia-high-court","tag-black-coal-mining-industry","tag-black-coal-mining-industry-award-2010","tag-coal-mining-industry-long-service-leave-administration-act","tag-employer-limb","tag-location-limb","tag-long-service-leave","tag-mining-industry-employees","tag-portable-long-service-leave","tag-shotfiring-services","tag-statutory-interpretation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Australia HC on coal mining long service leave eligibility in 3:2 ruling| SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In a 3:2 ruling, the High Court of Australia considered whether eligibility under the coal industry's portable long service leave scheme depends on the employer's business or the nature and location of the employee's work.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/10\/02\/australia-hc-coal-mining-long-service-leave-eligibility-shotfirers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Does eligibility for coal mining long service leave depend on the employer\u2019s business or the employee\u2019s work? 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