TeamLease Services539658Ongoing legal dispute

Gujarat High Court grants ad-interim relief, stays EPFO proceedings against TLSU

Gujarat High Court order dated October 22, 2026 grants ad-interim relief to TeamLease Skills University, staying further EPFO proceedings under Section 125 of the Code on Social Security, 2020, on summons dated September 29, 2026.

By ScoutQuest · Fri 23 Oct 2026, 3:07 PM IST · 3 min read

High Court order date: October 22, 2026
EPFO summons date: September 29, 2026
Notice returnable date: December 01, 2026

Court order dated October 22, 2026

The High Court of Gujarat passed an order on the interlocutory application shared by TeamLease Skills University (TLSU), being Civil Application (for Direction) No. 2 of 2026 in R/Special Civil Application No. 7698 of 2026. TLSU is associated with TeamLease Services Ltd, which disclosed the order to the stock exchanges.

What the High Court ordered

The draft amendment is allowed and is to be carried out forthwith.
Notice is issued to the respondents, returnable on December 01, 2026.
Ad-interim relief in terms of Para 3(B)(B) of the IA, that is, a stay of further proceedings under Section 125 of the Code on Social Security, 2020 pursuant to the summons dated September 29, 2026, is granted until the next date of hearing.
Direct service of notice on the respondents is permitted.

What this means in simple terms

An ad-interim relief is a temporary protection given by a court while the case is still being heard. Here it means the EPFO authority's proceedings under Section 125 of the Code on Social Security, 2020, which had been listed before that authority for October 28, 2026, are stayed, or paused, until the next date of hearing before the High Court. This is an interim protection and the matter remains sub judice, that is, still pending before the High Court.

Background of the dispute

TLSU had challenged an EPFO order dated March 11, 2026, passed under Para 26B of the Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 1952, in a writ petition before the High Court of Gujarat.
Notice was issued in that petition, and it remained pending for hearing.
While the petition was pending, the EPFO authority issued summons dated September 29, 2026, to TLSU under Section 125 of the Code on Social Security, 2020.
TLSU appeared and shared its reply, pointing out that the High Court had taken cognizance of the matter, but the authority listed the matter for hearing on October 28, 2026.
TLSU therefore shared the IA seeking a stay of those proceedings, which has now been granted until the next date of hearing.

The core question raised by the EPFO

The Regional Provident Fund Commissioner-I, EPFO, Vadodara, shared an affidavit-in-reply on behalf of Respondent Nos. 4 and 5 in the writ petition, in which it reiterated its position that trainees engaged under the National Employability Enhancement Mission (NEEM) framework fall within the definition of "employee" under Section 2(f) of the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, and sought to justify the order dated March 11, 2026 passed by the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner.

TLSU's stated position

TeamLease Skills University strongly disagrees with the assertions made in the affidavit and states that it continues to pursue its legal remedies before the High Court of Gujarat, and believes it has a strong case on merits.

What to watch

The next hearing, with notice returnable on December 01, 2026, where the High Court will continue to consider the writ petition.
Any further orders on the stay of the Section 125 proceedings.
The status of the underlying EPFO order dated March 11, 2026, which is the subject of the writ petition.

The relief is interim in nature and the matter remains pending adjudication.

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