CHENNAI: IN an important judgment that may provide solace to illegitimate sons, Madras High Court has held that they too are entitled to jobs under compassionate grounds.
A division bench of Justices Huluvadi G Ramesh and MV Muralidharan gave the ruling while dismissing a writ appeal from the Chennai Water Supply & Sewerage Board (CWS&SB) challenging the orders dated February 7, 2014 of a single judge.
Though the son of the second wife, may be an illegitimate one, still, that does not come in his way to seek the benefit of compassionate appointment, so long as he takes care of the deceased father’s first wife and her children, more so when the family members of the first wife, who are the legitimate heirs, have given their consent, the bench observed.
The father, while working with the CWS&SB, died in harness. Suresh Babu, the son of his second wife, applied for a job with the Board on compassionate grounds. But the Board rejected his plea. He moved the High Court and a single judge in February, 2014 allowed his writ petition. Aggrieved, the Board preferred the writ appeal, contending that Suresh Babu being son of the second wife, an illegimate one, was not entitled to the job under the compassionate ground.
Rejecting the contention, the bench said the only concern of the appellant Board is whether suresh Babu should be treated as a heir or not for the purpose of accommodating him. “In our view, on the settled legal principles whether it is legitimate or illegitimate, the single judge had taken due care in passing an order in the main writ petition as well as in the revision petition, which requires no interference,’’ the bench added and dismissed the petition.