Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
Text as published by the Legislative Department, from the copy archived on 14 May 2021. Amendments made after that date and before the repeal may be missing; check the official Gazette for them.
Repealed and replaced by the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 from 21 November 2025. It still governs matters and proceedings from before that date, as the repealing law provides, which is why the judgments below apply it.
Chapter I: Preliminary
Chapter II: Authorities Under This Act
- 3 Works Committee 3 judgments
- 4 Conciliation officers 2 judgments
- 5 Board of Conciliation 1 judgment
- 6 Courts of Inquiry 4 judgments
- 7 Labour Courts 21 judgments
- 7A Tribunals 9 judgments
- 7B National Tribunals 2 judgments
- 7C Disqualifications for the presiding officers of Labour Courts, Tribunals and National Tribunals 1 judgment
- 8 Filling of vacancies 4 judgments
- 9 Finality of orders constituting Boards, etc 2 judgments
Chapter IIA: Notice of Change
- 9A Notice of change 36 judgments
- 9B Power of Government to exempt
Chapter IIB: Reference of Certain Individual Disputes to Grievance Settlement Authorities
Chapter III: Reference of Disputes to Boards, Courts or Tribunals
- 10 Reference of disputes to Boards, Courts or Tribunals 178 judgments
- 10A Voluntary reference of disputes to arbitration 11 judgments
Chapter IV: Procedure, Powers and Duties of Authorities
- 11 Procedure and powers of conciliation officers, Boards, Courts and Tribunals 12 judgments
- 11A Powers of Labour Courts, Tribunals and National Tribunals to give appropriate relief in case of discharge or dismissal of workmen 58 judgments
- 12 Duties of conciliation officers 43 judgments
- 13 Duties of Board
- 14 Duties of Courts
- 15 Duties of Labour Courts, Tribunals and National Tribunals 1 judgment
- 16 Form of report or award 1 judgment
- 17 Publication of reports and awards 11 judgments
- 17A Commencement of the award 6 judgments
- 17B Payment of full wages to workman pending proceedings in higher courts 26 judgments
- 18 Persons on whom settlements and awards are binding 59 judgments
- 19 Period of operation of settlements and awards 26 judgments
- 20 Commencement and conclusion of proceedings 3 judgments
- 21 Certain matters to be kept confidential 3 judgments
Chapter V: Strikes and Lock-Outs
- 22 Prohibition of strikes and lock-outs 13 judgments
- 23 General prohibition of strikes and lock-outs 4 judgments
- 24 Illegal strikes and lock-outs 3 judgments
- 25 Prohibition of financial aid to illegal strikes and lock-outs 34 judgments
Chapter VA: Lay-Off and Retrenchment
- 25A Application of sections 25C to 25E 2 judgments
- 25B Definition of continuous service 27 judgments
- 25C Right of workmen laid-off for compensation 8 judgments
- 25D Duty of an employer to maintain muster rolls of workmen 1 judgment
- 25E Workmen not entitled to compensation in certain cases 5 judgments
- 25F Conditions precedent to retrenchment of workmen 166 judgments
- 25FF Compensation to workmen in case of transfer of undertakings 20 judgments
- 25FFA Sixty days’ notice to be given of intention to close down any undertaking 4 judgments
- 25FFF Compensation to workmen in case of closing down of undertakings 20 judgments
- 25G Procedure for retrenchment 25 judgments
- 25H Re-employment of retrenched workmen 17 judgments
- 25-I [Repealed
- 25J Effect of laws inconsistent with this Chapter 2 judgments
Chapter VB: Special Provisions Relating to Lay-Off, Retrenchment and Closure in Certain Establishments
- 25K Application of Chapter VB 3 judgments
- 25L Definitions 4 judgments
- 25M Prohibition of lay-off 3 judgments
- 25N Conditions precedent to retrenchment of workmen 15 judgments
- 25-O Procedure for closing down an undertaking
- 25P Special provision as to restarting of undertakings closed down before commencement of the Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Act, 1976
- 25Q Penalty for lay-off and retrenchment without previous permission 1 judgment
- 25R Penalty for closure
- 25S Certain provisions of Chapter VA to apply to an industrial establishment to which this Chapter applies
Chapter VC: Unfair Labour Practices
- 25T Prohibition of unfair labour practice 1 judgment
- 25U Penalty for committing unfair labour practices 3 judgments
Chapter VI: Penalties
- 26 Penalty for illegal strikes and lock-outs 2 judgments
- 27 Penalty for instigation, etc 1 judgment
- 28 Penalty for giving financial aid to illegal strikes and lock-outs
- 29 Penalty for breach of settlement or award 1 judgment
- 30 Penalty for disclosing confidential information 1 judgment
- 30A Penalty for closure without notice 1 judgment
- 31 Penalty for other offences 3 judgments
Chapter VII: Miscellaneous
- 32 Offence by companies, etc 8 judgments
- 33 Conditions of service, etc., to remain unchanged under certain circumstances during pendency of proceedings 93 judgments
- 33A Special provision for adjudication as to whether conditions of service, etc., changed during pendency of proceedings 37 judgments
- 33B Power to transfer certain proceedings 1 judgment
- 33C Recovery of money due from an employer 74 judgments
- 34 Cognizance of offences 5 judgments
- 35 Protection of persons
- 36 Representation of parties 11 judgments
- 36A Power to remove difficulties 5 judgments
- 36B Power to exempt
- 37 Protection of action taken under the Act
- 38 Power to make rules 5 judgments
- 39 Delegation of powers 3 judgments
- 40 Power to amend Schedules
Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.