The method of issuance of certificates of apprenticeship is regulated as per the Section 21, Apprentices Act, 1961: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh
Grant of a certificate only after the completion of the period of training as an apprentice and after appearance in a test to be conducted by the national council or any such agency authorized by the Central Government, to determine the proficiency in the designated trade, in which the apprentice has undergone apprenticeship training. The certificate can only be issued by the concerned regional board and none else. The aforesaid has been considered by the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh while adjudicating the case of Ajay Kumar v. UT of J&K and others [ WP(C) No. 2264/2021 CM No. 8043/2021 Cav No. 1681/2021] which was decided upon by the single judge bench comprising Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Puneet Gupta on 8th November 2021.
The facts of the case are as follows. The petitioner came to be selected as an Assistant Operator, which selection came to be challenged by respondent No. 4 herein. The ground of challenge was that the petitioner herein did not satisfy the eligibility conditions prescribed by the advertisement notice. As per the advertisement notice, the eligibility condition prescribed was “Matric with certificate of apprenticeship in the Trade from a press of repute.” Instead of a certificate of apprenticeship, the petitioner had produced an experience certificate. The Tribunal allowed the petition, challenging the selection of the petitioner herein on the ground that the certificate produced by the petitioner was just an experience certificate and not an apprenticeship certificate, which is given by an authority under the Apprentices Act, 1961 and not by private individuals.
The court perused the facts and arguments presented. It was of the opinion that “ Having considered the matter in detail, we cannot persuade ourselves to take a view different from the one expressed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Jammu. Be that as it may, this petition is found to be without any merit and is, accordingly, dismissed along with connected application.”
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Judgment reviewed by Aryan Bajaj