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Industrial Relations Code, 2020 · CHAPTER III — TRADE UNIONS

Section 16: Immunity from civil suit in certain cases

Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 30 August 2026

Section 16 — Governs immunity from civil suit in certain cases and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: (1) No suit or other legal proceeding shall be maintainable in any civil court against any registered Trade Union or any office-bearer or member thereof in respect of any act done in contemplation or furtherance of an…

Full official textSource checked: 20 August 20260 direct Central Rule link(s)

Current-law status

All provisions were brought into force from 21 November 2025 under S.O. 5320(E); use the current India Code consolidation because the Code also reflects the 2026 amendment/transition framework.

Primary sources

Provision / India Code ↗ · Official Act PDF ↗ · 2026 Central Rules ↗

Finin2min analysis — what the section actually does

Operative clauses

(1) No suit or other legal proceeding shall be maintainable in any civil court against any registered Trade Union or any office-bearer or member thereof in respect of any act done in contemplation or furtherance of an industrial dispute to which a member of the Trade Union is a party on the ground only that such act induces some other person to break a contract of employment or that it is an interference with the…
(2) A registered Trade Union shall not be liable in any suit or other legal proceeding in any civil court in respect of any tortuous act done in contemplation or furtherance of an industrial dispute by an agent of the Trade Union if it is proved that such person acted without the knowledge of, or contrary to express instructions given by, the executive of the Trade Union.

Provisos, explanations & qualifications

No proviso/explanation was separately extracted from this section text.

Thresholds and timelines in the text

No explicit day/month/year/hour/percentage/rupee expression was detected in this section text.

Actors expressly appearing in the text

Trade union

Full statutory text — Section 16

Official English text transcribed from the current India Code consolidation; page headers/line breaks are normalised for web reading. The Gazette/India Code PDF remains authoritative for typography, amendment footnotes and schedules.

16. Immunity from civil suit in certain cases.—(1) No suit or other legal proceeding shall be
maintainable in any civil court against any registered Trade Union or any office-bearer or member
thereof in respect of any act done in contemplation or furtherance of an industrial dispute to which a
member of the Trade Union is a party on the ground only that such act induces some other person to
break a contract of employment or that it is an interference with the trade, business, or employment of
some other person or with the right of some other person to dispose of his capital or of his labour as he
wills.
   (2) A registered Trade Union shall not be liable in any suit or other legal proceeding in any civil
court in respect of any tortuous act done in contemplation or furtherance of an industrial dispute by an
agent of the Trade Union if it is proved that such person acted without the knowledge of, or contrary to
express instructions given by, the executive of the Trade Union.

How to apply this provision

Primary statutory test — (1) No suit or other legal proceeding shall be maintainable in any civil court against any registered Trade Union or any office-bearer or member thereof in respect of any act done in contemplation or furtherance of an industrial dispute to which a member of the Trade Union is a party on the ground only that such act induces some other person to break a contract of employment or that it is an interference with the…
Additional operative limb — (2) A registered Trade Union shall not be liable in any suit or other legal proceeding in any civil court in respect of any tortuous act done in contemplation or furtherance of an industrial dispute by an agent of the Trade Union if it is proved that such person acted without the knowledge of, or contrary to express instructions given by, the executive of the Trade Union.
Evidence file — retain facts and records proving the role/status of: Trade union.

Why this is section-specific: the operative-clause, exception, threshold and cross-reference panels above are extracted from Section 16 itself rather than a generic “trigger/control/evidence” template.

Rules, forms and cross-references

Direct 2026 Central Rule mapping

None expressly mapped in the current concordance.

Forms mapped

No prescribed form is directly mapped in the current concordance.

Other sections cited in this text

None expressly mapped in the current concordance.

Related Labour Hub resources

Model Standing Orders, 2026 Labour litigation

A direct concordance is not exhaustive. Central/State jurisdiction, schemes, authority appointments, saved instruments and later notifications may change the practical route without changing the section wording.

Worked example

Suppose an industrial establishment reaches a step governed by immunity from civil suit in certain cases. HR/IR should create a dated file showing coverage, the competent authority/union status, required notice or application, service proof and the result. One operative text point to test is: “(1) No suit or other legal proceeding shall be maintainable in any civil court against any registered Trade Union or any office-bearer or member thereof in respect of any act done in contemplation or furtherance of an industrial dispute to which a member of the Trade Union is a p”

Illustration only; it is not statutory text or a substitute for applying the actual facts, jurisdiction, current rule/scheme and official instrument.

Q&A — Section 16

What does Section 16 of the Industrial Relations Code cover?

What is the main legal requirement or power in Section 16?

The first operative clause identified from the official text is: “(1) No suit or other legal proceeding shall be maintainable in any civil court against any registered Trade Union or any office-bearer or member thereof in respect of any act done in contemplation or furtherance of an industrial dispute to which a member of the Trade Union is a party on the ground only that such act induces some other person to break a contract of employment or that it is an interference with the…” Read it with the remaining subsections and any proviso below.

Does Section 16 contain a proviso or explanation?

No standalone proviso or explanation was extracted from this section text. Check the full text below for clause-level qualifications.

What time limit, percentage or amount appears in Section 16?

No explicit day/month/year/hour/percentage/rupee expression was detected in the official section text.

Which 2026 Central Rules are linked to Section 16?

No direct Central Rule is recorded in the current concordance. That does not exclude a relevant scheme, notification, State rule or enabling provision.

Is Section 16 currently operative?

All provisions were brought into force from 21 November 2025 under S.O. 5320(E); use the current India Code consolidation because the Code also reflects the 2026 amendment/transition framework.

Source & verification trail

Act: Industrial Relations Code, 2020 — official India Code PDF ↗

Central Rules: Industrial Relations (Central) Rules, 2026 — G.S.R. 342(E), 8 May 2026 ↗

Official library: Ministry of Labour & Employment — Labour Codes ↗

Source check: 20 August 2026. Individual professional interpretation should be re-reviewed when the section, rules, notification, scheme, State overlay or controlling judgment changes.

Reliance note: This page is an educational legal-reference layer. Verify the current official text, the applicable Central/State rules, notifications, schemes and judicial decisions before acting on a live matter.