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Author	Prof Ritu Gupta
Organisation/Institution	National Law University, Delhi
Country	INDIA
Panel	Labor and Employment Law
Title	Non-Compete Clauses in Employment Contracts in India: A Study of doctrine of restraint of trade under the Indian contract Act
Abstract	Non-compete clauses restrict an employee’s ability to work for a competitor or engage in similar businesses as that of the employer. Such clauses remain operative during and even post-employment for some time. The Indian Law prohibits agreements that put restrictions on trade and declares them void with only exception being provided for sale of goodwill of a business . However, the Supreme Court in a case , introduced ‘rule of reasonableness’ that marked a significant shift in the existing legal framework. This rule considered, inter alia, duration and geographical scope of the restriction along with nature of the employee’s position and availability of alternative employment opportunities. In a way, to safeguard legitimate interest of the employer or upholding steadfast intent of Sec 27, is contingent upon the discretion of the court. The focal point of research in this paper is whether such clauses protect legitimate proprietary interests or put undue restriction on the employee’s autonomy being too wide in scope. With the help of relevant judgments, the author intends to examine relaxation of the standard as flagged by the Law Commission in 1958 and argues for the adoption of a subjective, multifactor test based on reasonability. To expound on the same, the recent approaches being followed in Singapore would be examined to advocate a standard for India’s restraint doctrine.
Biography	Ritu Gupta is a Professor of Law at National Law University Delhi, India. She is Research Director of Centre for Business and Financial Laws (CBFL) at NLUD. She has got a teaching experience of about 22 years. Prof Gupta has recently featured in BW Legal World’s list of ‘100 Influential Women Driving Change in Indian Legal Ecosystem’ in the category of top 5 academicians consecutively for last two years. Prof. Gupta specializes in Commercial and Business Laws like Law of Contract, Banking Law, Property and Competition Law. Her areas of interests include Legal Education and Research, Judicial Process, Interpretation of Statutes and Gender Justice. She has written two books one on ‘Sexual Harassment at Workplace’ and the other on ‘Law of Contract’ including the Specific Relief Act, 1963, both published by LexisNexis. She has been an ASLI Fellow in March 2025.