Judgment

SHELAT, J.:- In these appeal, by special leave, two questions arise: (1) whether standing orders govern the employees appointed before they were certified under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 20 of 1946 and (2) whether the appellant-company was entitled to terminate the service of a workman appointed as a probationer before the expiry of the period of probation except on the ground of misconduct.

2. The first question relates to 3 workmen, Alladin, Ram Prasad and Noorul Zaman who were employed in 1929, 1935 and 1937 respectively, long before the company s standing orders were certified and brought into force in 1951 and who were superannuated under standing order 32 of the said standing orders. Prior to 1951 there were no rules or conditions of service prescribing the age of superannuation. Standing order 32 for the first time laid down 55 years as the age of superannuation. Relying on standing order 32 the company served on the three workmen notices dated December 19, 1964, November 20, 1963 and January 27, 1964, who had by then attained the age of 58, 64 and 59 years, by which the company retired them with effect from January 1, 1965, December 20, 1963 a