Q:I passed the secondary exam in 2002. I will appear for the higher secondary in 2006. I was with the Indian Navy as a sailor from July 28, 2004 till June 1, 2005. I deserted the Navy vessel, INS ANGRE, which was then in Mumbai. After one month, I informed the authorities that I did not wish to continue. My case was sent to the Admiral, Delhi (IHQ Navy), who granted my request. Am I now eligible for government service? Will I have any difficulty in obtaining a passport?
Name withheld
A:Desertion is an offence under Section 49 of the Navy Act, 1957. It appears from the documents you sent us that you were punished under Sections 81 and 82 of the Act with 60 days? detention and dismissal from service. Your detention period appears to be over. There seems to be nothing in the Act which makes you ineligible for government service. However, this will ultimately depend on rules or regulations regarding eligibility that the government may frame. As far as the private sector is concerned, the punishment you received can be considered to be a demerit on your part. But nothing prevents a private company from employing you. Regarding passport, you should not have any difficulty.
Q:I was an employee of a big MNC. In April, 2003, when I was the company?s district manager, some false allegations of financial irregularity were made against me and my service was terminated. No inquiry was held. I took recourse to the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, and my case is pending before the Industrial Tribunal. The company is alleging that the reference to the Tribunal is not maintainable because I was not a ?workman? as per the specifications of the ID Act. Is it not for the company to prove that I was not a ?workman?? Just because my designation was ?district manager?, does it mean I couldn?t have been a ?workman??
Soumya Roychowdhuri, Calcutta
A:The definition of ?workman? is in Section 2 (s) of the Act. The nomenclature of the post is not conclusive. It is the nature of duty that you used to discharge that is important. If your job was mainly managerial in nature, like taking decisions on behalf of the company, supervising other employees under you, etc, then, generally speaking, you wouldn?t fall within the definition of ?workman?. And it?s for the employer concerned to prove if you were a ?workman? and as such entitled to invoke the provisions of the ID Act, as has been held by the Supreme Court in Mukesh Tripathi?s case reported in AIR 2004, Sc 4179.
Send your letters to Inlaw at The Telegraph,
Jobs Desk, 6 Prafulla Sarkar Street,
Calcutta 700001;
or fax at 225 3142;
or send e-mails to jobs@abpmail.com.
