Married Daughter Also Entitled To Compassionate Appointment On Death Due To COVID: Andhra Pradesh High Court

This Writ Petition was filed by the petitioner aggrieved by the proceedings in rejecting the case of the petitioner for compassionate appointment as illegal, arbitrary, unjust, to quash the same and for consequential direction to the respondents to appoint the petitioner, in any suitable post, on compassionate grounds.

Brief Facts

The petitioner is the only daughter of the deceased, who died on 05.0.05.2021 due to COVID-19, while he was working as watchman in P.W.D. Workshop Division, Guntur District. The wife of the deceased is uneducated, depended on the deceased and the petitioner being the daughter of the deceased, not survived by siblings, sought for compassionate appointment claiming inter alia, that there is no earning member in the family and further her husband is not gainfully employed.

Though she submitted the relevant certificates, the government department who are the respondents rejected her case mainly on the ground that the petitioner is a married daughter and she is not entitled for compassionate appointment.

Mr. M.R.S. Srinivas, counsel for the petitioner submitted that as per G.O.Ms. No. 350 dated 30.07.1999 when there is only a married daughter to the deceased Government employee, without elder or younger brother or sisters and the spouse of the deceased Government is not willing to avail the compassionate, such married daughter may be considered for compassionate appointment, provided she is dependent on the deceased Government employee.

The counsel further submits that the petitioner has to look after her mother and further there is no other earning member in the family including petitioner's husband.

The Assistant Government Pleader contended that once marriage is performed, a daughter is not dependent on her father/mother even if she is not employed or her husband is un-employee and further that a married daughter is dependent on her father/mother if she is living with her father/mother when her husband deserts or disappears for years together or dies.

Issue

Whether the petitioner is entitled for compassionate appointment?

The court's ruling

The court observed that petitioner's case was rejected only on the ground that she is a married daughter and living with her husband and therefore, she is not dependent on her deceased father. The court relied on the following judgments:

In Commissioner of Police v. K. Padmaja, 2013 (4) ALT 501, the Divisions Bench, opined that even if the applicant is residing in a separate house, that by itself is not ground to deprive benefit of compassionate appointment.

In Ch. Damayanthi's v. APSRTC, 2014, this Court held that,

"Now after demise of her father, it is the responsibility cast upon the petitioner to take care of her old aged and widow mother, as she is the only daughter to her parents and there is nobody to take care of her mother for her remaining life. As such, this Court hold that the petitioner is entitled for compassionate appointment under the Bread Winner Scheme."

The court also relied on a ruling in Bhuvaneswari v. Puranik, 2020 SCC Online Kar 3397, the court observed that:

"If the marital status of a son does not make any difference in Law to his entitlement for seeking appointment on compassionate grounds, the marital status of a daughter should make no difference, as the married daughter does not seize to be a part of the family and Law cannot make an assumption that married sons alone continue to be the part of the family."

In view of the aforementioned decisions, the court allowed the Writ Petition and the respondents were directed to consider the case of petitioner for compassionate appointment.

Case Title: Smt. Peddisetti Anitha Sree @ Yenepalli Anitha Sree v. The State of Andhra Pradesh

Case No: W. P No. 28931 of 2021

Citation:  2022 LiveLaw (AP) 4