–Report by Arun Bhattacharya
The High Court of Delhi on Monday 20th February, 2023 in SHIWANG TRIPATHI & ORS versus UOI & ORS reiterated the stance taken by a learned Single Judge’s bench while dismissing the matter that a Right of Absorption or regularization of post does not arise merely because of an agreement of apprenticeship between parties.
FACTS:
The National Insurance Company had invited applications for an apprenticeship programme on a pan India basis and the candidates participating in the same were appointed for a term of 2 years which were later extended twice. Several recommendations were made in support of regularisation of these apprentices due to their excellent performances but the responsible authority did not act accordingly. That is when the present issue arose when these apprentices demanded regularisation of their post based on the agreement for apprenticeship that were provided to them.
APPELLANT’S CONTENTIONS:
The appellants tried to present the case in the manner that they were eligible according to the basic statistics that vacancies were open and their performances were at par with what the authorities shall ask and that is what made such absorption valid and legal.
RESPONDENT’S CONTENTIONS:
The respondents tried to highlight the point that such right to absorption does not arise since the appellants were merely recruited for apprenticeship trainee purpose and no separate promise was made to them regarding any kind of conversion or regularisation of such a contract into one of a permanent appointment.
JUDGEMENT:
The primary issue was already dismissed by the learned Single Judge’s bench and nothing new happened in case of the appeal either. The honourable appellate bench by referring to Employees State Insurance Corporation & Anr. Vs. Dr.Vinay Kumar & Ors. [C.A.No. 4150 of 2022] clearly observed that no person or apprentice can claim a right to absorption or permanent employment, when they are devoid of any proper employer employee relation. By objectively pointing out the absence of a proper contract between the said parties the appellate bench reiterated the Single judge’s decision to deny the grant of such relief for regularisation and highlighted the fact that the respondents were not obligated to regularise positions just because someone has been an apprenticeship in the said organisation.
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