'Industry' Definition Reference : Live Updates From Supreme Court 9-Judge Bench Hearing
LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK
17 March 2026 10:20 AM IST
A 9-judge bench of the Supreme Court will hear today the reference on the correctness of the definition of “industry” given by then Justice VR Krishna Iyer in the 1978 decision in Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board v. A. Rajappa.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justices BV Nagarathna, PS Narasimha, Dipankar Datta, Ujjal Bhuyan, Satish Chandra Sharma, Joymalya Bagchi, Alok Aradhe and Vipul M. Pancholi is hearing the matter.
In the Bangalore Water Supply case, a seven-judge bench had laid down a sweeping interpretation of the term “industry” under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The Court held that any systematic activity organised by cooperation between employer and employee for the production or distribution of goods and services could fall within the definition of industry, even if the organisation was not engaged in profit making.
The correctness of this decision was doubted in a 2002 appeal. The matter was ultimately referred to a 9-judge bench in 2017, since the Bangalore Water Supply case was rendered by a 9-judge bench.
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Live Updates
- 17 March 2026 11:33 AM IST
AG: We do not consider it necessary to say anything more and leave it to the larger Bench to give such meaning and effect to the definition clause in the present context with the experience of all these years and keeping in view the amended definition of `industry' kept dormant for long 23 years.
- 17 March 2026 11:32 AM IST
AG: Now that we have reached the 2020 code, couple of questions that arise
1. what is the public purpose will be served to say that the bangalore water supply was not a new law?
if the court were to say its good law then the new code will receive colour from this judgment.
- 17 March 2026 11:31 AM IST
AG: In response to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board case, the Parliament intervened and substituted the definition of `industry' by including within its meaning some activities of the government and excluding some other specified governmental activities and `public utility services' involving sovereign functions.
