“Managed To Survive For 23 Long Years”: Uttarakhand High Court Dismisses Belated Plea For Compassionate Appointment Citing Significant Delay

The judgment was passed in a case where the petitioner sought a compassionate appointment following the death of his father, a work charge employee in the Public Works Department, Uttarakhand, who passed away on December 13, 2000.

Emphasising the intent of the welfare State behind extending compassionate appointments Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari noted, "Compassionate appointment is given to dependent family members of a deceased employee in order to help them tide over the sudden financial crisis befallen upon them due to the untimely death of the sole breadwinner."

The petitioner had applied for a compassionate appointment after over 20 years following his father's death. Due to the non-consideration of his application, he had filed a writ petition in 2022, which was disposed of with a directive to the Superintending Engineer to decide on his representation. The Superintending Engineer rejected the petitioner's claim on November 9, 2022.

The State Counsel argued that the petitioner's claim was highly belated, given that over 23 years had elapsed since his father's demise. The Court found merit in this submission, emphasizing that compassionate appointments are intended to alleviate the sudden financial crisis faced by the family of a deceased employee.

While passing the order, Justice Tiwari observed, "Petitioner and his family members have managed to survive for 23 long years. Thus, there is no scope for interference with the impugned order.”

Furthermore, the petitioner's counsel had requested the court to pass an order directing the Competent Authority to consider the petitioner's engagement as a daily wager. Addressing this, the Court disposed of the writ petition with a directive to the Superintendent Engineer to consider the petitioner's request for engagement as a daily wager and to make an appropriate decision in accordance with the law.

Accordingly the petition was disposed off.

Case Title: ISHWAR SINGH Versus STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Utt) 16

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