CHENNAI: The compassionate allowance under rule 41 of Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules is not a right but a concession to be considered by the competent authority. In the absence of establishing any right under the rules, the court may not issue a direction to grant compassionate allowance which would result in larger repercussions since all the dismissed or removed employees will claim compassionate allowance as a matter of right, said the Madras High Court.
The observation was made by a division bench of justices S M Subramaniam and N Senthilkumar recently while setting aside an order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) which directed the Department of Posts to grant compassionate allowance to an employee who was removed from service for long unauthorised absence from 2010. The order to remove him was taken in 2014 after due inquiry.
After two years, he submitted an application to the higher authority requesting to pay him a compassionate allowance but it was turned down.
Subsequently, he approached the CAT which ordered, on November 30, 2023, payment of the allowance by considering the 14 years of service he had put in and that the removal from service was done for unauthorised absence and not due to dishonesty or moral turpitude. The department filed an appeal against the order of the CAT.
The bench reasoned that the circumstances for grant of compassionate allowance would arise when an authority competent to dismiss or remove an employee from service may, if the case is deserving, on special consideration, sanctions compassionate allowance not exceeding two-third of pension or gratuity or both which would have been admissible to him if he had retired on superannuation.
In the present case, an employee was removed from service pursuant to a departmental disciplinary proceeding. Rule 24 of the CCS Pension Rules says that dismissal or removal amounts to forfeiture of past service. Therefore, while passing an order of removal or dismissal, the competent authority may, if the case deserves a special consideration, grant compassionate allowance by invoking Rule 41, it explained.