In Brief
In this writ petition, workers challenged Gujarat's notifications exempting factories from labour law compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Supreme Court held that the Factories Act's power to exempt factories applies only to 'public emergencies'—grave situations threatening India's security due to war, external aggression, or internal disturbance of similar magnitude. A pandemic, though economically devastating, does not meet this threshold and does not threaten state security. The Court rejected claims that employer financial losses justified suspending worker protections, emphasizing that labour laws protect hard-won worker rights. The petition was allowed, striking down the blanket exemptions.
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