Factories Act, 1948

The Delhi Gymkhana Club Ltd., a members' club with a kitchen and catering division employing more than twenty workers, was held by the Employees' State Insurance Corporation to be covered under the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 and was ordered to pay contributions for the period 1980-1985. The club challenged th…

The appellants, employees of a canteen operating in the Steel Club of Bhilai Steel Plant, challenged their dismissal under Section 58 of the Madhya Pradesh Shops and Establishments Act, 1958, arguing that the Act applied to the club. The respondents contended that the club was a "club not being a residential club" and …

The case concerned workmen employed by a contractor to run a statutory canteen on the premises of Air India, which under Section 46 of the Factories Act, 1948, must provide such a facility. The workmen claimed they were deemed employees of Air India and sought regularisation and other employment benefits. The Supreme C…

The State of Maharashtra terminated the services of 256 workmen employed on 25 lift‑irrigation schemes after transferring the schemes to a sugar factory. The workmen claimed entitlement to reinstatement and backwages, arguing that the termination was a breach of Section 25N of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, while t…

The Currency Note Press, a government-owned corporation, was sued by 17 former employees who claimed overtime wages for work done between 1986 and 1990 under Section 33-C(2) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The Labour Court dismissed their applications, but the Bombay High Court set aside that order and granted th…

Lanco Anpara Power Ltd was constructing a thermal power plant and had obtained registration under the Factories Act. The State authorities issued show‑cause notices under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 (BOCW Act) and the Buildings and Other Con…

The appellants, supervisory employees of the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd., claimed double overtime allowance under Section 59(1) of the Factories Act, 1948 for work performed between 1988 and 2005. Their claim arose while they were central government servants holding civil posts, and therefor…

The appellant, Ajay Raj Shetty, who was employed as General Manager/Technical Coordinator of M/s Electriex (India) Ltd., was convicted under Section 85(i)(b) of the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 for failing to remit ESI contributions that had been deducted from employees' wages. The issue before the Supreme Cour…

Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd. (appellant) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the State of Orissa on 15 May 2002, wherein the State agreed to recommend iron‑ore mining leases for the appellant’s integrated steel plant. After restructuring of the Bhushan group, the State claimed the MOU had ceased and dem…

The workmen employed in the canteen of Air India, which was operated by Chef Air, a unit of the Hotel Corporation of India (HCI), claimed they were regular employees of Air India. Air India argued that HCI was a separate legal entity and that it had no control over the workers' hiring, wages, or discipline. The Supreme…

The case concerned a senior judicial officer, R.R. Parekh, who was dismissed from service after two disciplinary inquiries found him guilty of misconduct for awarding sentences below the statutory minimum under Section 135 of the Customs Act, allegedly motivated by corrupt or oblique motives. The High Court had revisit…

On 3 March 1989 a fire broke out at temporary pandals erected for Tata Iron and Steel Company's Foundation Day, killing and injuring many. The Inspector of Factories conducted a preliminary investigation on 5‑6 March 1989 and later received a detailed committee report on 23 April 1990; a criminal complaint was filed on…

The Peoples Rights and Social Research Centre (PRASAR), a Delhi‑based NGO, filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking relief for the widespread occurrence of silicosis among workers in mining, construction, stone‑cutting and sand‑blasting industries. The petition alleged violations of fundamental rights under Artic…

The National Kamgar Union (appellant) challenged the closure of Kran Rader Pvt. Ltd.'s manufacturing unit, alleging that more than 100 workers were employed and that the employer failed to comply with Section 25-K of Chapter VB of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The Industrial Court had held that 115 workers were em…

An inspection of Tata Steel's Growth Shop and Fabrication Yard revealed violations of the Factories Act, 1948 and Bihar Factories Rules, including lack of overtime slips, absence of leave books for contract labour, and several canteen deficiencies. Cognizance was taken against the occupier, Heman Madhusudan Nerurkar, a…

The appellants were canteen workers at the Moradabad Division of the Northern Railway who claimed that their canteen should be treated as a statutory canteen under the Factories Act, 1948 and that their services should be regularised. The respondents argued that the canteen was a non‑statutory, non‑recognised facility …

Prem Singh, a welder, worked for about 37 years in a work‑charged establishment of the Uttar Pradesh government and was later regularised before superannuation. He claimed that the period spent in the work‑charged establishment should be counted as qualifying service for pension under the Uttar Pradesh Retirement Benef…

The case concerned whether M/s Endocrinology and Immunology Lab, a pathological laboratory, fell within the ambit of the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 and, if so, from which date. The High Court had held that the lab was covered from 6 September 2007 under a Kerala government notification that extended the Act t…

The State of Goa filed a complaint alleging that the respondent's professional laundry service operated as a factory without a valid licence, violating the Factories Act, 1948. A Judicial Magistrate First Class issued summons on the basis of the complaint, but the High Court quashed the process, holding that dry‑cleani…

The Gujarat Mazdoor Sabha and a national trade union challenged two Gujarat State notifications issued under Section 5 of the Factories Act, 1948 that exempted all factories from provisions on working hours, rest intervals and overtime pay during the COVID‑19 pandemic. The petitioners argued that the pandemic did not c…

The Worth Trust, a charitable organization that also runs commercial factories, was challenged by its workers' union for payment of bonus and ex-gratia for the year 1996-97. The union argued that the workers, employed in the Trust's factories, fall within the definition of "workmen" under the Factories Act and are ther…