Supreme Court limits expansive definition of 'industry' under new labour code

On August 20, 2026, a nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, held that the expansive definition of 'industry' established in the 1978 Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board v. A. Rajappa case will not apply under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020. The earlier seven-judge bench judgment, authored by Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, had broadly defined 'industry', enabling workers in a wide range of jobs to seek legal recourse, including collective bargaining, against unfair labour practices. The court clarified that this nearly half-century-old interpretation has been superseded by the new code, though the judges varied on some issues.