MADURAI: Observing that misplaced sympathy will affect the chances of meritorious candidates in securing government employment, the Madurai Bench of Madras HC recently confirmed the dismissal of a man’s plea seeking compassionate appointment.
Hearing an appeal filed by the man, a bench of justices SM Subramaniam and G Arul Murugan observed that a compassionate appointment is a concession and can never be claimed as a matter of right.
They said that the purpose and objective of the scheme of compassionate appointment is to mitigate the circumstances arising on account of death of a government employee in service. Since there is no merit assessment or reservation involved in this appointment, it affects the efficiency level in public administration.
Therefore, the scheme should be implemented scrupulously by following the terms and conditions stipulated, including the family’s circumstances, sources of income, etc. In the petitioner’s case, his father died in 2005 and his elder sister had initially applied for compassionate appointment in 2006.
However, she withdrew her application after her marriage and instead, the petitioner, who was a minor at the time of his father’s death and subsequently turned 18, sought appointment. The single judge, in June this year, had held that once the application is withdrawn, no other application from other legal heirs can be entertained. Moreover, the circumstances that arose due to the employee’s death vanished by the time the petitioner filed his application.