Duration and modification of standing orders
Section 35 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 deals with duration and modification of standing orders. The standing orders certified under subsection (8) of section 30 shall not, except on an agreement between the employer and the workers, or a negotiating union or a Trade Union or other representative body of the workers, be liable to modification until the expiry of six months from the date on whic The Act was enacted on 28 Sep 2020.
(1) The standing orders certified under subsection (8) of section 30 shall not, except on an agreement between the employer and the workers, or a negotiating union or a Trade Union or other representative body of the workers, be liable to modification until the expiry of six months from the date on which the standing orders or the last modifications thereof came into operation.
(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (1), an employer or worker or a Trade Union or other representative body of the workers may apply to the certifying officer to have the standing orders modified in such application as may be prescribed, which shall be accompanied by such copies of the modifications proposed to be made, and where the modifications are proposed to be made by agreement between the employer and the workers or a Trade Union or other representative body of the workers, a certified copy of that agreement shall be filed alongwith the application.
(3) The foregoing provisions of this Code shall apply in respect of an application under sub-section (2) as they apply to the certification of the first time standing orders.
Section 35, The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (Act 35 of 2020).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Union of India Government Department of Atomic Energy Rep. by Its Secretary vs M. Kiran Kumar
Decided under industrial-employment-standing-orders-act-1946 10, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Disciplinary action against a person who answers the description of a workman in an industrial establishment must follow the certified standing orders; the special, worker-protective statute prevails over the general service rules applicable to government servants, and the certified standing orders can be varied only by the statutory modification procedure, not unilaterally.
On this section: Supplies the governing principle behind section 35 - once standing orders are certified they bind both sides and stand until changed by the prescribed modification procedure, so neither an employer's appointment letter nor a general service rule can vary them.
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Union of India vs M. Kistaiah
Decided under industrial-employment-standing-orders-act-1946 10, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Standing orders certified through the statutory quasi-judicial process operate as a statutory contract of service for workmen in an industrial establishment and govern their conditions of service and disciplinary proceedings; the general Central Civil Services (CCA) Rules cannot displace them in the absence of the notification contemplated by the Act, and the terms of an individual appointment order cannot override them.
On this section: Treats the certified standing orders as fixed terms of service alterable only by the section 10 certification/modification machinery that section 35 now re-enacts, and refuses to let a general service rule work a de facto modification.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 35
What have the courts held on Section 35 of the Industrial Relations Code?
Union of India Government Department of Atomic Energy Rep. by Its Secretary vs M. Kiran Kumar (29 Nov 2023) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under INDUSTRIAL-EMPLOYMENT-STANDING-ORDERS-ACT-1946 10, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Supplies the governing principle behind section 35 - once standing orders are certified they bind both sides and stand until changed by the prescribed modification procedure, so neither an employer's appointment letter nor a general service rule can vary them. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below, all of them from the Supreme Court.
How do I find court cases under Section 35 of the Industrial Relations Code?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Industrial Relations Code 35, section 35 Industrial Relations Code, section 35 of the Industrial Relations Code. People searching for it also type industrial relations code 2020 35 of 2020. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Union of India Government Department of Atomic Energy Rep. by Its Secretary vs M. Kiran Kumar (29 Nov 2023).
What should I read with Section 35 of the Industrial Relations Code, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 30 (Preparation of draft standing orders by employer and procedure for certification), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 4 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.
When was Section 35 of the Industrial Relations Code enacted?
Section 35 of the Industrial Relations Code, cited as Industrial Relations Code 35, was enacted on 28 Sep 2020 as Act 35 of 2020. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 2. Definitions3327 words
- 99. Power of appropriate Government to make rules1827 words
- 86. Penalties1320 words
- 30. Preparation of draft standing orders by employer and procedure for certification942 words
- 78. Prohibition of lay-off858 words
- 79. Conditions precedent to retrenchment of workers to which Chapter X applies706 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.