On August 20, 2026, the Supreme Court of India delivered its judgment on the Reference made on the correctness of the judgment in Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board vs A. Rajappa (BWSSB), 1978, particularly the test for determining whether an activity falls within the definition of “industry” under Section 2(j) of the Industrial Disputes (ID) Act, 1947. A brief history of the Reference. In State of U.P. vs Jai Bir Singh (2005), 5 SCC 1, a five-judge Bench referred the seven-judge Bench decision in BWSSB for reconsideration. A seven-judge Bench was constituted and, by order dated January 2, 2017, referred the matter to a nine-judge Bench. By order dated February 16 2026, the nine-Judge Bench framed four questions concerning the correctness of the test in BWSSB, the impact of the 1982 Amendment and the Industrial Relations Code (IRC), 2020, whether government welfare activities count as “industrial activities,” and the scope of “sovereign functions” under Section 2(j).
By the time the questions were framed, the IRC, 2020 had been brought into force from November 21, 2025, also repealing the ID Act, 1947. By virtue of this repeal, the Reference had effectively been rendered otiose. Even so, the nine-judge Bench proceeded to hear the matter.
