The Central government told the Delhi High Court it will finalise rules to implement the new industrial code by February-end. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said public objections and suggestions were already invited and the process is nearing completion soon.
NEW DELHI: The Central government informed the Delhi High Court that it will finalize the rules to implement the new industrial code by the end of February.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the government, mentioned that public objections and suggestions have already been solicited and that the rules will be completed soon.
Mehta appeared before a Division Bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, which was addressing a petition challenging the Central government’s notification from November 2025 that enacted the Industrial Relations Code 2020.
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The Court in its order noted,
“We have also been informed that the rule-making process is continuing, and the objections and suggestions from the general public have already been invited, and the same [Rules] are likely to be finalised soon. It has been stated by the learned Solicitor General that in all likelihood, the rules shall be finalised by the end of this month,”
The counsel for the petitioner requested that until the new rules are established, the previous rules should remain in effect, arguing that the lack of rules creates a legal gap.
Nonetheless, the Bench declined to issue any such directives, commenting that it would effectively reinstate the rescinded industrial law. The Court subsequently dismissed the petition.
In earlier proceedings, the High Court had highlighted several shortcomings in the new industrial laws, noting that the Code was implemented without adhering to the proper procedures for repealing the previous legislation governing the field. Additionally, the Court expressed concerns over the absence of tribunals under the new law.
SG Mehta presented two gazette notifications to the Court, stating that the concerns raised by the Bench had been addressed.
The Bench acknowledged this and then dismissed the petition.
In addition to SG Mehta, the Union of India was represented by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma, Central Government Standing Counsel (CGSC) Ashish Dixit, and advocates Amit Gupta, Shubham Sharma, Naman, Yash, and Umar Hashmi.
Representing the petitioners, NA Sebastian and another litigant, were advocates Ravinder Singh Garia, Shashank Singh, Upendra Singh Rajput, Sanjay Kumar, Shivesh Garg, Saifuddin, Tej Bahadur Srivastava, and Alok Kumar.