The Union government has assured the Delhi High Court that all labour courts, industrial tribunals and national industrial tribunals already in place will keep hearing both pending and future cases under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, until the new tribunal structure envisaged under the law becomes functional.
The clarification came on Thursday during a hearing before Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, amid concerns that the Code had been operationalised without creating the required adjudicatory framework.
Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma and standing counsel Ashish Dixit, appearing for the Centre, pointed to a December 8 “removal of difficulties” notification. They said the move ensured continuity of dispute-resolution mechanisms and prevented any legal or administrative vacuum after the Code came into force on November 21.
The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 is one of four labour codes enacted to consolidate 29 earlier labour laws. It replaces the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and the Trade Unions Act, 1926, and sets out a new adjudication system, including industrial tribunals with revised qualifications for members. Section 51 also mandates transfer of all pending industrial-dispute cases to the new tribunals once they are constituted.
The assurances were made in response to a petition filed by advocates practising before labour courts and tribunals, including NA Sebastian. They argued that the government notified the Code without framing the rules required to establish the new tribunals or define qualifications and terms for their members.
This lapse, they said, created a “paralysing effect” on the adjudicatory machinery, as the Code replaces earlier statutes but the new mechanism under it does not yet exist.
The high court had already expressed displeasure last week at the Centre’s decision to operationalise the Code without completing the rule-making process and had directed corrective steps.
The petitioners further submitted that the government had not issued any clear repeal of the earlier labour laws, adding to the confusion over the transition.
Taking note of the Centre’s submissions, the bench said it appreciated the steps taken to ensure a smooth transition and expected the government to complete all necessary actions before the next hearing.
“We appreciate the efforts made by Shri Sharma and further repose our trust that at the end of the government, everything required to provide a smooth transition from the old to the new labour law regime shall be done. List on January 12,” the court said.
The matter will now be heard again on January 12, by which time the Centre is expected to demonstrate progress toward constituting the new tribunals and finalising the relevant rules under the Industrial Relations Code.
