Apprentices Act, 1961

The Regional Provident Fund Commissioner issued a notice under the Employees Provident Fund & Misc. Provisions Act, 1952, claiming that 45 trainees selected for a stipend‑based training programme at a chocolate factory were "employees" liable to contribute to the provident fund. The trainees were paid a monthly allowan…

The appellants, twenty‑two apprentices who completed a one‑year training with the Punjab State Electricity Board, claimed that their letters of appointment required the Board to absorb them in the event of vacancies, in line with a Government of India instruction that at least 50% of direct recruitment vacancies be fil…

The appellants, Ram Gopal Dwivedi and others, were engaged as apprentices under the Apprentices Act, 1961 by Kanpur Electricity Supply Co. Ltd. (a unit of the U.P. State Electricity Board) and their services were terminated after completing a three‑year training period. The Labour Court held the termination illegal, or…

The case arose from the merger of Murphy India Ltd. with CEAT Ltd., after which 45 workmen were appointed on a temporary basis on 1‑Feb‑1991 and placed on probation. A Memorandum of Settlement dated 29‑Apr‑1991 provided benefits to "permanent workmen" on the rolls as of 31‑Dec‑1990. The workmen claimed that, upon succe…

In 1980-81 Laxmi Rattan Cotton Mills Ltd. engaged six workers as trainee investigators on a stipend, expressly stating no obligation to appoint them thereafter. After training, the mill offered them clerk positions, which they accepted without protest and later made permanent. When the mill became sick and closed in 19…

Five trade apprentices of the North Eastern Railway, who completed their apprenticeship as fitters under the Apprentices Act, 1961, were initially appointed as temporary Fitters (Group C) on 28 May 1990. On 7 June 1990, the Railway cancelled these appointments and placed them in Group D posts (Carriage Khalasi) based o…

The Allahabad High Court had directed the U.P. State Road Transport Corporation (the Corporation) to employ apprentices who had completed training in its workshops, relying on the doctrine of promissory estoppel based on a 1977 circular. The Corporation appealed, contending that Section 22(1) of the Apprentices Act, 19…

The Supreme Court entertained a public‑interest writ filed by M.C. Mehta challenging the employment of children below fourteen in hazardous factories and mines in Sivakasi and elsewhere, alleging violation of the fundamental right under Article 24 of the Constitution. The Court examined the constitutional mandate under…

The Supreme Court considered a Special Leave Petition filed by the U.P. Rajya Vidyut Parishad Apprentice Welfare Association challenging the applicability of an earlier Supreme Court direction that apprentices need not appear for examinations. The Court examined whether that direction was a general rule or limited to t…

Bhola Singh was engaged as a trainee/apprentice under a state‑sponsored training scheme in the cane department of Dhampur Sugar Mills Ltd. After 45 trainees were interviewed, only 11 were regularised; Singh was not qualified and continued as a trainee until the scheme ended on 16 November 1987, when all remaining train…

The respondents, who were initially appointed as apprentices/ITI trainees, claimed that the two‑year apprenticeship period should be counted as regular satisfactory service for the purpose of the Assured Career Progression (ACP) scheme, seeking a second ACP scale after twenty years of service. The employer argued that …

The appellant, Mukesh K. Tripathi, was appointed as an Apprentice Development Officer in LIC and was terminated during his apprenticeship without notice. He claimed that his dismissal violated Section 25F of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, arguing that he was a "workman" within the meaning of Section 2(s). The Supre…

The Supreme Court examined whether apprentices appointed under the Apprentices Act, 1961 become "workmen" under the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, and whether the requirement in Section 4(4) of the Apprentices Act to send the contract to the Apprenticeship Adviser for registra…