NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court recently observed that a married daughter cannot be said to be dependent on her deceased mother to be appointed on compassionate grounds.
A bench of Justices MR Shah and Krishna Murari said, to appoint the respondent (Ms Madhuri) now on compassionate grounds shall be contrary to the object and purpose of appointment on compassionate grounds.
“The respondent cannot be said to be dependent on the deceased employee, i.e., her mother. Even otherwise, she shall not be entitled to the appointment on compassionate grounds after a number of years from the death of the deceased employee,” the court also said.
Court’s order came in a plea filed by the Maharashtra government against HC’s order of directing the state to appoint Madhuri on compassionate grounds after her parents died while serving in the state’s Water Resources Department.
While allowing the appeal, the court said, “As per the law laid down by this Court in the catena of decisions on the appointment on compassionate ground, for all the government vacancies equal opportunity should be provided to all aspirants as mandated under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. However, an appointment on the compassionate ground offered to a dependent of a deceased employee is an exception to the said norms. The compassionate ground is a concession and not a right.”
Underlining the object of appointment on compassionate grounds, the court said the whole object of granting compassionate employment is, thus, to enable the family to tide over the sudden crisis. The object is not to give such a family a post much less a post held by the deceased.