It is a usual practice in India that millions of people work here without any valid documents (like appointment, id, esi, pf etc) from the employer, but as the Apex Court, that does not mean that there does not exist any employer employee relationship between them. If there is no direct evidence of relationship, then comes the circumstantial evidences.
In case of BSNB herein above, it is the company who has sent him letter to serve the notice period or pay the amount hence the question of employer employee is established and moreover when BSNB has himself sent an email to the company expressing his inability to continue service.
Moreover, many companies do not give any offer letter/ appointment/ payslips etc. as an usual practice in India, but this usual practice does not make it neither ethical nor legal.