JUDGMENT (R. V. RAVEENDRAN, J.)

These appeals by special leave challenge the judgment dated 12.10.2001 of a Full Bench of Andhra Pradesh High Court holding that there can be no appointment on compassionate grounds in cases other than death of a government servant in harness, and that any scheme for compassionate appointment on medical invalidation of a government servant, is unconstitutional, being violative of Article 16 of the Constitution of India.

2. By GO dated 30.7.1980, the government of Andhra Pradesh formulated a scheme for providing compassionate appointment to the dependents (spouse/son/daughter) of Government servants who retired on medical invalidation. By a further GO dated 4.7.1985, the benefit of the scheme was restricted to cases where the Government servants retired on medical invalidation, at least five years before attaining the age of superannuation. To prevent misuse of the scheme, the State Government issued GO dated 9.6.1998, prescribing suitable safeguards and procedures by constituting Medical Boards, District/State Level Committees to examine and recommend the applications for compassionate appointment on ground of medical invalidation. It provided that as and when a government servant sought retirement on medical grounds, the concerned appointing authority should refer the case to the Medical Board; that on receiving the medical opinion, he should refer the matter to the District Level Committee (or the State Level Committee in respect of employees in the Secretariat); and that the said Committee would scrutinize the proposals for compassionate appointment in accordance with the guidelines and make its recommendations to the State Government which would take the final decision.

3. The following clarification was issued by Government Memo (`GM for short) dated 25.6.1999, as to the date with reference to which the five year period prior to superannuation should be reckoned:

"It is hereby clarified that the benefit of compassionate appointment will be applicable only to those government employees who retire on Medical Invalidation Five (5) years before they attain the age of superannuation. Therefore, the required period of five (5) years of left over service is to be reckoned from the date of issue of orders of retirement on medical invalidation. It is further clarified that in cases where the Government employees do not have five (5) years of service before the employees attain the age of superannuation at the time of considering such cases by the State Level Committee or District Level Committees, the respective Committees after scrutiny of Medical invalidation certificates in those cases may recommend only for retirement of such government employees on medical invalidation as per the certificate issued by the Medical Board."

The said clarification led to considerable grievance. The government servants felt that the clarification was not just. They contended that even when a government servant made an application for medical invalidation when the `left over period was more than five years, if there was delay on the part of Medical Board and/or the District Level or State Level Committee in processing and making the recommendations, the `left over period may get reduced to less than five years thereby making his dependant ineligible for the benefit of compassionate appointment. For example, if an application for medical invalidation was made six years prior to the due date of superannuation, but the process of verification by the Medical Board, the process of recommendation by the District/State Level Committee and the process of sanctioning of retirement, took more than one year, and as a consequence the sanction for retirement is given on a date when the `left over period of service is less than five years, for no fault of the government servant, the benefit of compassionate appointment to his dependant family member will be denied. Another example is where the application is made five and half ye