New Industrial Relations Code brought in without properly repealing earlier laws: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court said on Thursday that the Central government may have brought into force the new Industrial Relations Code 2020 into force without following the proper procedure for repeal of the earlier laws governing the field.  

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela noted that the government has not issued any notification specifying that the Trade Unions Act, 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 have been repealed either in part or in totality. 

“There has to be a repealing notification. The notification should contain the declaration of the commencement of the code, and it must also notify the repeal of these Acts. As of today, these acts have not been repealed,” the Bench remarked. 

Therefore, the Court asked the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma to sit with the government officers and resolve the issue. 

“You can issue a separate notification in conjunction with this [the notification bringing the code into force],” the Bench said.

It then listed the case for further hearing on January 12, 2026. 

The Court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by one NA Sebastian and another litigant challenging the government notification bringing the new labour code into force.

The petition also highlighted that the notification has effectively paralysed the country’s labour dispute resolution system by transferring all cases pending before Labour Courts and Industrial Tribunals under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, to the corresponding tribunals constituted under the new Code. However, no such tribunals currently exist.

During the previous hearing, the Court had asked ASG Sharma to look into the issue. 

Today, Sharma told the Court that the government issued a notification on December 8, stating that the court and tribunal constituted under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, shall continue to adjudicate the existing as well as new cases to ensure continuity and avoid any administrative vacuum till the constitution of tribunals under the new law. 

The Bench took the notification on record and appreciated the efforts made by ASG Sharma to resolve the issue. 

“We appreciate the efforts made by Shri Sharma and further repose our trust that at the government’s end, everything required to provide a smooth transition from the old to the new labour law regime shall be done,” the Court recorded in its order. 

Along with ASG Sharma, Central Government Standing Counsel (CGSC) Ashish Dixit appeared for the Central government. 

The petitioners were represented by advocates Ravindra S Garia, Sanjay Kumar, Adrija Bhadra, Sarfuddin Khan and Tej Bahadur Srivastava.