Facts: The petitioners were engaged as Graduate Apprentice Trainees by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) in 2016 for a one-year period following an All India Computer Based Test. Upon completion of their training, the petitioners sought permanent absorption into regular Grade "A" officer posts. They contended that under Section 22(1) of the Apprentices Act, 1961, HPCL was under a mandatory obligation to frame a recruitment policy and absorb them. HPCL resisted the claim, asserting that the apprenticeship contract explicitly stated that the employer was under no obligation to offer permanent employment. During the pendency of the writ, HPCL framed a policy in June 2018 providing age relaxation and grace marks to ex-apprentices in regular recruitment but did not provide for automatic absorption.
Procedural Posture: The petitioners approached the High Court of Bombay by filing a Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking a mandamus for absorption and challenging the validity of the automatic termination of their apprenticeship contracts.
Issue: Whether apprentices have a vested legal right to be absorbed into regular employment upon successful completion of their training under the Apprentices Act, 1961, and whether Section 22(1) mandates such absorption.
Holding: No, apprentices do not have a legal right to mandatory absorption, and Section 22(1) does not create a statutory obligation for the employer to provide permanent employment.
Reasoning: The Court reasoned that Section 18 of the Apprentices Act clearly defines apprentices as "trainees" and not "workers", meaning labor laws do not apply to them. Section 22(1), as amended in 2014, requires an employer to formulate a policy for recruiting apprentices, but it does not mandate that such a policy must provide for automatic absorption. The Court observed that the contract of apprenticeship specifically negated any commitment to permanent employment. Distinguishing prior precedents, the Court noted that unless the contract specifically contains an absorption clause, no "legitimate expectation" or "promissory estoppel" can be invoked. Granting mandatory absorption without a regular competitive selection process would constitute a "backdoor entry" violating Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.