Industry definition under labour law excludes departmental, charitable, research, and training hospitals; commercial hospital cases may differ.

Section 2(j) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 was treated as requiring a cooperative enterprise analogous to trade or business, producing material goods or material services; mere employment is insufficient. The inclusion of hospital and dispensary services in the First Schedule, and the powers under Section 2(n)(vi) and Section 40, do not by themselves convert a non-industry into an industry. On that test, a Government hospital functioning as a departmental service, and hospitals that are predominantly charitable, research-oriented, or training-oriented, were not treated as industries, while a commercial hospital run on business lines was left open as a different case.

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Issues: Whether hospitals run as government departments, charitable institutions, or research-and-training establishments fall within the definition of "industry" under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, and whether the references and awards against the hospital managements could stand.

Analysis: The definition of "industry" in Section 2(j) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 was held to require a cooperative enterprise in which employers and employees are engaged in an activity analogous to trade or business and directed towards the production of material goods or material services. Mere employment, standing alone, is not enough. The inclusion of "service in hospitals and dispensaries" in the First Schedule and the power under Section 2(n)(vi) and Section 40 of the Act do not convert a non-industry into an industry; the scheduled item must still satisfy the basic statutory concept of industry. Applying that test, a Government hospital run as part of a departmental function, and hospitals whose dominant character is charitable, research-oriented, or training-oriented, were held not to be industries. A commercial hospital run on business lines may present a different case, but that was not the position on the facts before the Court.

Conclusion: The hospital managements succeeded. The Safdarjung Hospital, the Tuberculosis Hospital, and the Kurji Holy Family Hospital were held not to be industries on the facts of these cases, and the appealable orders based on the contrary view were set aside. The appeals were allowed.

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