WHEN ALGORITHMS HARM: TORT REMEDIES FOR GIG- WORKER INJURIES IN INDIA

Abstract

The rapid growth of platform-mediated gig work in India has transformed labour relations, introducing new forms of control and risk that fall outside traditional legal frameworks. Digital platforms govern workers through algorithmic systems while classifying them as independent contractors, thereby distancing themselves from legal responsibility for workplace injuries. This shift has exposed significant gaps in India’s tort law, which remains anchored in conventional notions of employment and direct supervision. As a result, doctrines such as vicarious liability, non-delegable duties, and occupiers’ liability often fail to provide meaningful remedies for injured gig workers. Against this backdrop, the paper examines how tort law can evolve to address the structural risks and harms embedded in platform work. Using a doctrinal and socio-legal methodology, it explores how contractual design and algorithmic oversight enable platforms to avoid liability, creating an accountability vacuum. Drawing on Indian case law, including recent interpretations under the POSH Act, 2013 and emerging control-based tests, the paper highlights the judiciary’s struggle to keep pace with digital forms of labour. It then evaluates emerging tort doctrines, such as negligent algorithmic design and platform-specific non-delegable duties to inform reform proposals. Finally, the paper advocates for statutory interventions, presumptive employment status, algorithmic transparency mandates, and specialised dispute resolution forums, to realign tort law with its core principle, ensuring that those who create and manage risk are held accountable for its consequences.