Section 91: Special provision for adjudication as to whether conditions of service, etc., changed during pendency of proceedings
Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 30 August 2026
Section 91 — Governs special provision for adjudication as to whether conditions of service, etc., changed during pendency of proceedings and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: Where an employer contravenes the provisions of section 90 during the pendency of proceedings before conciliation officer, arbitrator, Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal, as the case may be, any employee aggrieved by…
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.
Provision / India Code ↗ · Official Act PDF ↗ · 2026 Central Rules ↗
Finin2min analysis — what the section actually does
Operative clauses
- Where an employer contravenes the provisions of section 90 during the pendency of proceedings before conciliation officer, arbitrator, Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal, as the case may be, any employee aggrieved by such contravention, may make a complaint in writing in such manner as may be prescribed— (a) to such conciliation officer, and the conciliation officer shall take such complaint into account in…
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
Employer, Employee / worker, Appropriate Government, Tribunal
Full statutory text — Section 91
91. Special provision for adjudication as to whether conditions of service, etc., changed during
pendency of proceedings.—Where an employer contravenes the provisions of section 90 during the
pendency of proceedings before conciliation officer, arbitrator, Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal,
as the case may be, any employee aggrieved by such contravention, may make a complaint in writing
in such manner as may be prescribed—
(a) to such conciliation officer, and the conciliation officer shall take such complaint into account
in mediating in, and promoting the settlement of, such industrial dispute; and
(b) to such arbitrator, Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal and on receipt of such complaint,
the arbitrator, Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal, as the case may be, shall adjudicate upon the
complaint as if it were a dispute referred to or pending before it, in accordance with the provisions
of this Code and shall submit his or its award to the appropriate Government and the provisions of
this Code shall apply accordingly.How to apply this provision
- Primary statutory test — Where an employer contravenes the provisions of section 90 during the pendency of proceedings before conciliation officer, arbitrator, Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal, as the case may be, any employee aggrieved by such contravention, may make a complaint in writing in such manner as may be prescribed— (a) to such conciliation officer, and the conciliation officer shall take such complaint into account in…
- Central Rule mapping — 40. Read the mapped provision together with this text rather than treating the concordance as a substitute for it.
- Prescribed-form link recorded in the corpus — XVI. Confirm the current notified form/version before filing.
- Evidence file — retain facts and records proving the role/status of: Employer, Employee / worker, Appropriate Government, Tribunal.
Rules, forms and cross-references
Direct 2026 Central Rule mapping
Forms mapped
XVI
Other sections cited in this text
Related Labour Hub resources
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
When an event triggers special provision for adjudication as to whether conditions of service, etc., changed during pendency of proceedings, record the trigger date, competent authority, prescribed rule/form, filing or decision step, service/acknowledgement and final outcome. A statutory point to test is: “Where an employer contravenes the provisions of section 90 during the pendency of proceedings before conciliation officer, arbitrator, Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal, as the case may be, any employee aggrieved by such contravention, may make a complaint in writing in su” Read the mapped Central Rule(s) 40. Use the current notified XVI where the process requires it.
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 91
What does Section 91 of the Industrial Relations Code cover?
Section 91 — Governs special provision for adjudication as to whether conditions of service, etc., changed during pendency of proceedings and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: Where an employer contravenes the provisions of section 90 during the pendency of proceedings before conciliation officer, arbitrator, Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal, as the case may be, any employee aggrieved by…
What is the main legal requirement or power in Section 91?
The first operative clause identified from the official text is: “Where an employer contravenes the provisions of section 90 during the pendency of proceedings before conciliation officer, arbitrator, Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal, as the case may be, any employee aggrieved by such contravention, may make a complaint in writing in such manner as may be prescribed— (a) to such conciliation officer, and the conciliation officer shall take such complaint into account in…” Read it with the remaining subsections and any proviso below.
Does Section 91 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 91?
No explicit day/month/year/hour/percentage/rupee expression was detected in the official section text.
Which 2026 Central Rules are linked to Section 91?
The current concordance maps Section 91 to Central Rule(s) 40.
Is a prescribed form mapped to Section 91?
The current corpus records: XVI. Confirm the current notified version before filing or service.
Is Section 91 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.