India: Employee Rights/ Labour Relations

The Supreme Court of India in Hamsaanandini Nanduri v Union of India and Others, 2026 INSC 246, has held Section 60(4) of the Code on Social Security, 2020 (“SS Code”) as unconstitutional and violative of Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India (“Constitution”) insofar as it restricts maternity benefit to adoptive mothers adopting a child below the age of three months.

The Bombay High Court’s Nagpur Bench, in a judgement delivered in February 2026 has significant implications for how employers across sectors structure and administer maternity leave.

The Supreme Court of India opened its judgment in Hamsaanandini Nanduri v. Union of India with the words of poet Fleur Conkling Heyliger. The stanza,"Not flesh of my flesh, nor bone of my bone...

Karnataka HC rules that salary paid to the Foreign Nationals cannot be subjected to IGST as import of service where there is a direct employer–employee relationship...

The judgment delivered by the Orissa High Court in Mani Machha v. State of Odisha represents a watershed moment in Indian administrative law, particularly concerning the intersection of gender equality...

In a notable development, the Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh has passed the Uttar Pradesh Dookan Aur Vanijya Adhishthan (Sanshodhan) Adhiniyam Bill, 2025 (Bill).

The Supreme Court's decision dated 16 December 2025 in Municipal Council, Nandyal Municipality v. K. Jayaram & Ors.

India's Labour Codes have been in a state of suspended animation for over four years –enacted, but not operational; effective on paper but not yet binding in practice.

The enactment of India's four Labour Codes represents a fundamental shift from the erstwhile fragmented and statute-specific wage framework to a consolidated and standardised regulatory regime governing remuneration and social security.