Sections 19 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Sections 19, 20 and 21 set out who sees a union's books, who may join, and who may lead. A member or office-bearer can inspect the accounts and the member list, a person of fourteen or more in a non-hazardous industry can be a member, and a person must be eighteen and not hit by the listed disqualifications to be an office-bearer.
Section 19: the books of account and the list of members of a registered Trade Union are open to inspection by an office-bearer or member at times provided in the union's rules. Section 20: a person who has attained fourteen years and is employed in a non-hazardous industry may be a member. Section 21: a person is disqualified as an executive member or office-bearer if under eighteen, convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude and sentenced to imprisonment (until five years after release), or disqualified by the Tribunal. Ministers and holders of an office of profit are barred.
Section 19: inspection of books and member list
Section 19 is one sentence: "The books of account of a registered Trade Union and the list of members thereof shall be open to inspection by an office-bearer or member of the Trade Union at such times as may be provided for in the rules of the Trade Union."
- Who can inspect: an office-bearer or a member. Outsiders have no right under this section.
- What: the books of account and the list of members.
- When: at the times set in the union's own rules. The section does not fix a time or notice period, so a union's rules that say nothing about it leave the member without a fixed timetable. Section 7 requires certain provisions in the rules of a union; see section 7.
Refusal to allow inspection is a dispute between a member and the union about its administration or management, which can go to the Tribunal under section 22. See sections 22 and 23. Unions that want a clean audit trail can seek help from our legal consultation team when they draft or revise their rules.
Section 20: minors as members
Section 20 says "any person who has attained the age of fourteen years and is employed in a non-hazardous industry may be a member of a registered Trade Union subject to any rules of the Trade Union". The person:
- may, subject to those rules, enjoy all the rights of a member; and
- may execute all instruments and give all acquittances necessary under the rules. (The printed text reads "acquaintances"; the sense, in context, is acquittances, that is, receipts or discharges.)
Two conditions have to be met together: age of fourteen or above, and employment in a non-hazardous industry. The Code does not define "non-hazardous industry" in this section. Whether a particular industry qualifies is a question to settle from the other laws that classify hazardous work; we do not list them here. Note that the right to join is not the right to hold office. A fourteen-year-old member cannot be an office-bearer, because s.21(1)(i) fixes eighteen for that.
Section 21: who cannot be an office-bearer
Section 21(1): three disqualifications
A person is disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of the executive or any other office-bearer of a registered Trade Union if:
- Age: he has not attained the age of eighteen years;
- Conviction: he has been convicted by a court in India for any offence involving moral turpitude and sentenced to imprisonment, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release; or
- Tribunal direction: the Tribunal has directed that he shall be disqualified for being chosen or for being an office-bearer of a Trade Union for a period specified in the direction.
The wording "for being chosen as, and for being" means the disqualification works at two points. A disqualified person cannot be elected, and a sitting office-bearer who becomes disqualified cannot continue.
On the second ground, both parts must be present: a conviction for an offence involving moral turpitude and a sentence of imprisonment. The five years run from release. The Code does not define moral turpitude. A fine-only sentence is not within the words "sentenced to imprisonment".
Section 21(2): ministers and holders of office of profit
"No member of the Council of Ministers or a person holding an office of profit (not being an engagement or employment in an establishment or industry with which the Trade Union is connected) in the Union or a State shall be a member of the executive or other office-bearer of a Trade Union." The bracket is important. A person employed in the very establishment or industry with which the union is connected is not caught just because of that employment.
| Ground | Source | Disqualified | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | s.21(1)(i) | Yes | Until eighteen |
| Conviction for moral turpitude with imprisonment | s.21(1)(ii) | Yes | Until five years after release |
| Tribunal direction | s.21(1)(iii) | Yes | For the period specified |
| Minister or holder of office of profit | s.21(2) | Yes | While holding that position |
Example (invented). A union elects a 17-year-old apprentice as joint secretary. He is a valid member (s.20, if the industry is non-hazardous), but cannot be an office-bearer until he is eighteen. Another member, sentenced to imprisonment three years ago for an offence involving moral turpitude, stands for the executive; he remains disqualified until five years have passed since his release.
Consequences and what to do
The Code does not spell out a penalty in these three sections for a disqualified person holding office. The practical consequences follow from other provisions: a dispute about the election of office-bearers can be taken to the Tribunal (s.22), and the proportion of outside office-bearers is regulated by s.23. A union should keep, for every candidate, proof of age and a declaration about convictions and offices held, because the Registrar and the Tribunal will ask for facts, not assurances. Section 26 also requires the union to send a statement of changes of office-bearers with its annual return; see sections 26 and 27.
Employers have a role too. An employer who is negotiating with a union, or sitting on a committee with its representatives, can ask for a list of office-bearers. If a representative appears to be disqualified, the dispute is for the Tribunal to decide. The employer should not act unilaterally against a worker on that basis. Where the worker is also facing discipline, take advice from our employment and labour law advisory team first.
Need help with union governance?
A union's rules, election papers and member register are the first documents a Registrar or a Tribunal will ask for. Our legal consultation team can review your rules against sections 19 to 21, set up a simple eligibility checklist for candidates and tidy the inspection arrangements.
Key takeaways
- Members and office-bearers may inspect the books of account and list of members at the times set by the union's rules (s.19).
- Age fourteen plus employment in a non-hazardous industry is enough to be a member (s.20).
- Office-bearers must be eighteen, without a recent moral-turpitude prison sentence, and not barred by the Tribunal (s.21(1)).
- Ministers and holders of an office of profit cannot be executive members or office-bearers, unless the office is employment in the union's own establishment or industry (s.21(2)).
Read next
- Section 22-23: adjudication of trade union disputes and proportion of office-bearers
- Section 16-18: immunity and enforceability of agreements
- Section 8: application for registration of a Trade Union
- Industrial disputes under the new labour codes
Disclaimer: Based on the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (as enacted) and, where noted, the Industrial Relations (Central) Rules, 2026 (G.S.R. 342(E), 8 May 2026), as on 30 September 2026. The Code is in force from 21 November 2025; some provisions may be notified later, and State Governments make their own rules for establishments where the State is the appropriate Government. Verify the current position before acting.