mean that employees who did not have any such restrictive covenant in their employment contracts, would be barred from taking up employment with the respondent. In other words, we would be reading into their employment contracts a negative covenant that they would not seek employment after termination of their present employment, with the respondent. If such a term were to be introduced in their employment contracts, then, it, in view of the settled legal principles indicated above, would be void being in restraint of trade. Consequently, when such employees cannot be restrained from directly seeking the employment of the respondent, they cannot be restrained indirectly by preventing the respondent from employing them. Therefore, an injunction cannot be granted restraining the respondent from employing even those employees of the petitioner company who were allured by the solicitation held out by the respondent in the said advertisement. But, the respondent can be injuncted and restrained from making any such or other solicitation in future during the period of two years w.e.f. 31.12.2005 to any other employees of the petitioner. As regards the solicitation already made by the respondent in the advertisement, the petitioner, if it is able to substantiate this in the arbitration proceedings, would be entitled to be compensated by the grant of damages. So, it is not as if a breach of the non-solicitation clause would leave the petitioner without a remedy. The remedy lies in the claim for damages and an injunction against solicitation in future. It does not lie in the
