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PETITIONER: NARENDER KUMAR AND ORS.

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: STATE OF PUNJAB AND ORS.

DATE OF JUDGMENT29/11/1984

BENCH: CHANDRACHUD, Y.V. ((CJ) BENCH: CHANDRACHUD, Y.V. ((CJ) VENKATARAMIAH, E.S. (J)

CITATION:  1985 AIR  275            1985 SCR  (2)  52  1985 SCC  (1) 130        1984 SCALE  (2)826

ACT:      Apprentices  Act  (Act-LII  of  1961),  Section  22(2), object   and   scope   of-   Contract   of   apprenticeship- Interpretation of  Para 2 of the contract of Apprenticeship- Whether the  terms  of  the  contract  entitle  the  trained apprentices to  be appointed  to 50%  of the  posts  as  per Government  of   India  Department   of  Labour   (D.G.E.T.) Instructions  notified   on  March  23rd,  1983-  Words  and Phrases. meaning of "without commitment".

HEADNOTE:      In accordance  with the  provisions of  the Apprentices Act, 1961  and in  terms  of  Para  2  of  the  contract  of apprenticeship  the   appellants  completed   a   one   year apprenticeship  under   respondent  No.   2,  Punjab   State Electricity Board.  Contrary to the Instructions, noticed on March 23rd, 1983 and issued by of the Ministry of Labour and Rehabilitation, Department  of Labour  (D.G.E.T ) Government of India  to all  officers asking  them  to  take  necessary action to  ensure that  the trained apprentices are absorbed in industries  upto a  minimum of  50  per  cent  of  direct recruitment vacancies, the Board advertised on July 27, 1983 50  posts   of  Junior   Engineers-II  (Electrical)  in  its establishment for  which  the  appellants  had  successfully completed a one year apprenticeship under it.      The appellants, therefore, filed a writ petition in the High Court  of Punjab  and Haryana, challenging the issuance of  the   advertisement  on  the  ground  that  under  their respective letters  of appointment, they were entitled to be appointed to  50 per  cent of posts which were advertised by respondent No 2. The writ petition was dismissed by the High Court on  the ground  that the letters of appointment issued to  the   appellant  did   not  contain   any  assurance  or undertaking that they will be absorbed in the service of the - Punjab  State Electricity  Board; that  47 per cent of the vacancies  were   already  reserved  for  Scheduled  Castes, Scheduled Tribes,  backward classes, ex-servicemen, etc, and that, if  another 50  per cent  of  the  posts  were  to  be reserved for  apprenticeship trainees,  almost 100  per cent posts shall  have been  put in  the reserved  category which would be contrary to law. Hence the appeal by special leave      Allowing the appeal, the Court,

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^      HELD. 1.  The object of Section 22(2) of the Apprentice Act 1961  is to  guarantee to the extent of the existence of vacancies that  the apprentices will not be rendered jobless after they complete their training. 153      2.1. Sub-section  (2) of  section 22  leaves  no  doubt that, despite  the A provision contained in sub-section (1), the employer  is  under  an  obligation  to  offer  suitable employment to  the apprentice if the contract of apprentice. ship contains  a condition  that the  apprentice shall serve the  employer   after  the   successful  completion  of  the training. Indeed,  when such an offer is made the apprentice on his  part is  bound to serve the employer in the capacity in which  he was  working as an apprentice. In a contract of apprenticeship, if  a condition is not happily expressed the Court must take a broad and commonsense view of the terms of the employment. It in not proper in such cases to indulge in a hair-splitting  approach and  find an escape for defeating the rights of employees. [155 F-G]      2.2. Paragraph  2 of  the  letters  of  appointment  is intended to  convey the  meaning that there is an obligation on  the   apprentices  to   serve  the  employer  after  the successful completion of the training. When paragraph 2 says that the  apprentice "shall  be absorbed  in the department" the  only   reasonable  interpretation   to  put  upon  that expression  is   that  it   creates  reciprocal  rights  and obligations   on    the   parties   to   the   contract   of apprenticeship, namely,  the employee and the employer. "You shall be  absorbed" is  a double-edged term of the contract. It binds  the employer to offer employment to the apprentice (if  there   is  a  vacancy)  and,  equally,  it  binds  the apprentice to accept the offer. [156 D.F]      2.3. In  the context  in which  the expression "without any commitment" occurs, it only means that the obligation of the employer  to offer  employment to the apprentice and the corresponding obligation  of the  apprentice  to  serve  the employer arises only if and when there is a vacancy in which the apprentice  can be appointed. Paragraph 2 of the letters of  appointment   creates  a  binding  obligation  upon  the employer to  absorb the apprentices in the department on the successful completion of the training period, provided there is a  vacancy in  which the apprentices can be appointed. It would be contrary both to the letter and spirit of paragraph 2 of  the letters  of appointment to hold that even if there is a  vacancy in  which an apprentice can be appointed after the successful  completion of  his training, the employer is free not  to appoint the apprentice and fill that vacancy by appointing an  outsider Such  a  reading  of  the  assurance contained in paragraph 2 will also frustrate the very object of the provision made by the legislature in section 22(2) of the apprentice Act. [157 B; E-F]      3. The contention that the Executive Engineer, who sent the letters  of appointment, had no authority to incorporate the particular condition in those letters cannot be accepted in as  much as  a senior  officer  in  the  position  of  an Executive Engineer  would not incorporate a specific term in the contract  of apprenticeship  without being authorised to do so. [156 G-H]      4. In  the instant  case, offering  employment  to  the appellants to  the extent  of 50  per cent of the posts will not violate  the law,  as laid down by this Court, in regard to reservation  of posts.  The appellants are entitled to be appointed in  the available  vacancies not  because  of  any reservation of  posts in  their favour  but because  of  the

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provisions of section 22(2) of the 154 Apprertices Act  and  the  contractual  obligations  arising under paragraph 2 of the letters of appointment. [157 H; 158 A]

JUDGMENT:      CIVIL APPELLATE  JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 4720 of 1984.      Appeal by  Special leave  from the  Judgment and  order dated the 24th November, 1983 of the Punjab and Haryana HIGH Court in C.W.P. No. 4839 of 1983.      V.M. Tarkande and A.K. Goel, for the Appellant.      Ashwani Kumar and A.K. Panda for the Respondents.      The Judgment of the Court was delivered by      CHANDRACHUD, C.J. The appellants 22 in number, who hold a three-year  Diploma in  Electrical Engineering Course from the  State   Board  of  Technical  Education,  Punjab,  were appointed as  apprentices in  August  1981.  The  Principal, Technical  Training   Institute,  Punjab  State  Electricity Board, Patiala,  who is  respondent  3  herein,  issued  the requisite  certificates  to  the  appellants  on  successful completion by  them  of  one  year’s  apprenticeship.  After obtaining those certificates the appellants registered their names with  the Employment Exchanges in Punjab. The Ministry of  Labour   and  Rehabilitation,   Department   of   Labour (D.G.E.T.),  Government   of  India,   New   Delhi,   issued instructions to  various offices  including the Punjab State Electricity Board. Patiala, respondent 2 herein, asking that necessary action  should be taken to ensure that the trained apprentices are  absorbed in industries upto a minimum of 50 per cent of direct recruitment vacancies. These instructions were  notified   on  March  23,  1983.  On  July  27,  1983, respondent 2  advertised 50  posts  of  Junior  Engineers-II (Electrical) in  its establishment,  for which the appellant had successfully completed a one-year apprenticeship.      The appellants filed a writ petition (No. 4839 of 1983) in the  High Court  of Punjab  and Haryana,  challenging the issuance of  the advertisement  on the  ground  that,  under their respective  letters of appointment, they were entitled to be  appointed to  50 percent  of  the  posts  which  were advertised by respondent 2. That writ petition was dismissed by the  High  Court  on  the  ground  that  the  letters  of appointment issued  to the  appellants did  not contain  any assu- 155 rance or  undertaking that  they will  be  absorbed  in  the service of  the Punjab  State Electricity Board; that 47 per cent of  the vacancies  were already  reserved for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled  Tribes, backward classes, ex-service men, etc.; and  that, if another 50 per cent of the posts were to be reserved for apprenticeship trainees, almost 100 per cent posts shall  have been  put in  the reserved  category which would be  contrary to  law. This  appeal by special leave is directed against the judgment of the high court.      Section 22(1)  of the  Apprentices  Act,  52  of  1961, provides that  it shall not be obligatory on the part of the employer to  offer any  employment to any apprentice who has completed the  period of  his apprenticeship training in his establishment nor  shall it be obligatory on the part of the apprentice to  accept an employment under the employer. This provision is, however, subject to the non-obstante clause in sub-section (2) of section 22 which reads as follows:

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        "Notwithstanding anything in sub-section (1), where      there is  a condition  in a  contract of apprenticeship      that  the   apprentice  shall,   after  the  successful      completion of  the apprenticeship  training, serve  the      employer, the  employer shall,  on such  completion, be      bound to  offer suitable  employment to the apprentice,      and the apprentice shall be bound to serve the employer      in  that   capacity  for   such  period   and  on  such      remuneration as may be specified in the contract".      (The proviso  to this  sub-section is  not relevant for      our purpose) .      This sub-section  leaves no  doubt  that,  despite  the provision contained  in sub-section  (1),  the  employer  is under an  obligation to  offer suitable  employment  to  the apprentice if  the contract  of  apprenticeship  contains  a condition that the apprentice shall serve the employer after the successful completion of the training. Indeed, when such an offer  is made,  the apprentice  on his  part is bound to serve the  employer in  the capacity in which he was working as an apprentice.      The question which, therefore, arises for consideration is  whether   there  is  a  condition  in  the  contract  of apprenticeship of  the appellants  that they shall serve the employer after the successful 156 completion of their apprenticeship training. In this behalf, Para graph  2 of  the letters of appointment under which the appellants were  appointed as  apprentices is  important. It reads thus:          "It  should be clearly understood that you shall be      on stipendary  training for a period of one year and on      successful completion  of this  training, you  shall be      absorbed in  the department  if  there  are  vacancies,      without any  commitment subject to the stipulation that      during  the   waiting   period   after   one   year   s      apprenticeship, you will not be paid any remuneration".      It is  urged on  behalf of  the respondents  that, this particular term  in the contract of apprenticeship cannot be construed as  a condition  that the apprentices shall, after the successful  completion of their apprenticeship training, serve the  employer. We  find it  difficult to  accept  this submission. Paragraph  2 of  the letters  of appointment  is intended to  convey the  meaning that there is an obligation on  the   apprentices  to   serve  the  employer  after  the successful completion of the training. This condition is not happily expressed but, in matters such as the one before us, one must  take a  broad and commonsense view of the terms of employment. It  is not pro per in such cases to indulge in a hair-splitting approach and find an escape for defeating the rights  of   employees.  When  paragraph  2  says  that  the apprentice "shall  be absorbed  in the department", the only reasonable interpretation  to put  upon that  expression  is that it  creates reciprocal  rights and  obligation  of  the parties to  the  contract  of  apprenticeship,  namely,  the employee and  the employer  "You shall  be  absorbed"  is  a double-edged term  of the contract. It binds the employer to offer employment  to the  apprentice (if there is a vacancy) and, equally, it binds the apprentice to accept the offer.      Indeed, that  is why, instead of advancing the argument which was  made before  us, the  stand taken by the State of Punjab in  the High  Court was  that the Executive Engineer, who sent  the letters  of appointment,  had no  authority to incorporate the  particular condition in those letters. That contention is  wholly without  substance and  in any  event, remains unsubstantiated.  It is  quite difficult  to  accept

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that a  senior officer in the position of an Executive would incorporate   a   specific   term   in   the   contract   of apprenticeship without being authorised to do so.      That is  also why  yet another defence was taken by the State of 157 Punjab to the contention of the appellants. That defence was that   the words  "without any  commitment" which  occurs in paragraph 2  of the  letters of appointment, show that there is no  obligation on  the part of the employer to employ the apprentices after their period of training is over. There is no substance in that contention also because, in the context in which  the expression "without any commitment" occurs, it only means  that the  obligation of  the employer  to  offer employment  to   the  apprentice   and   the   corresponding obligation of  the apprentice  to serve  the employer arises only if  and when there is a vacancy in which the apprentice can be  appointed. This  is made  clear by  the clause, "you shall be absorbed in the department if there are vacancies’, which precedes the expression "without any commitment". This is plain  commonsense because,  if there  is no  vacancy  in which an  apprentice can  be  appointed,  there  can  be  no obligation to  appoint him  and there  can, evidently, be no obligation upon  the apprentice to serve the employer. These reciprocal rights  and obligations,  namely,  to  serve  and offer employment,  arise on  the occurrence  of a vacancy in which an apprentice can be appointed.      We are  also  of  the  opinion  that,  apart  from  the implications arising out of Section 22(2) of the Apprentices Act, paragraph  2 of  the letters  of appointment  creates a binding  obligation   upon  the   employer  to   absorb  the apprentices in  the department  on the successful completion of the training period, provided there is a vacancy in which the apprentices  can be appointed. It would be contrary both to the  letter and  spirit of  paragraph 2 of the letters of appointment to  hold, that,  even if  there is  a vacancy in which an  apprentice can  be appointed  after the successful completion of  his training,  the employer  is free  not  to appoint the  apprentice and  fill that vacancy by appointing an outsider.  Such a  reading of  the assurance contained in paragraph 2  will also  frustrate the  very  object  of  the provision made  by the  legislature in Section 22 (2) of the Act The  object of  that provision  is to  guarantee, to the extent of  the existence  of vacancies, that the apprentices will not  be rendered  jobless  after  they  complete  their training.      No other  point was  argued before  us on behalf of the respondents. We  would, however, like to indicate that there is no  substance in  the contention taken by the respondents before the  High  Court  that  offering  employment  to  the appellants to  the extent  of 50  percent of  the posts will violate the  law, as  laid down  by this Court, in regard to reservation of posts. The appellants are entitled 158 to be  appointed in  the available  vacancies not because of any reservation  of posts in their favour but because of the provisions of  Section 22(2)  of the Apprentices Act and the contractual obligations  arising under  paragraph 2  of  the letters of appointment.        For  these reasons, we allow the appeal and set aside the judgment of the High Court. A writ shall issue directing the  respondents   to  absorb   the  appellants  as  "Junior Engineers-II(Electrical) in the 22 vacancies which will form a part  of the  fifty  vacancies  which  are  advertised  by respondent 2,  The Punjab  State Electricity Board, Patiala.

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The appellants  will get  their costs  here and  in the High Court, which we quantify at rupees five  thousand in all. S.R.                                          Appeal allowed 159