Judgment :-

R.V. RAVEENDRAN, J.

Leave granted. Heard the parties.

2. The respondent's father employed as a Messenger in the Appellant Bank, died on 1.10.2004. Respondent's mother made applications dated 6.6.2005 and 14.6.2005 requesting for his appointment on compassionate grounds. When the applications were being processed and verified, the compassionate appointment scheme was substituted by the "SBI Scheme for payment of ex-gratia Lumpsum Amount" with effect from 4.8.2005. The new scheme abolished the old scheme for compassionate appointments and instead provided for payment of an ex gratia lumpsum amount as per its terms. Clauses 14 and 15 of the new scheme relevant for our purpose are extracted below:

"14. Date of effect of the Scheme and disposal of pending applications:

..........Applications pending under the Compassionate Appointment Scheme as on the date on which this new Scheme is approved by the Executive Committee of the Central Board will be dealt with in accordance with the new Scheme for payment of ex-gratia lumpsum amount provided they fulfill all the terms and conditions of this Scheme.

15. Miscellaneous provisions of the Scheme

x x x x x x x x x

vi. With effect from the date the "SBI Scheme for Payment of Ex-gratia Lumpsum Amount" comes into force the Bank's scheme of compassionate appointments shall be deemed abolished/withdrawn and no request for compassionate appointment shall be entertained or considered by the Bank under any circumstance."

3. As the old scheme came to be abolished and compassionate appointment was no longer permissible after the new scheme came into force, the Bank on 31.1.2006 advised the family of the deceased to make an application under the new scheme for ex-gratia payment. Feeling aggrieved, the respondent filed a writ petition before the Allahabad High Court. A learned single Judge of the High Court by order dated 8.5.2008 directed the appellant to reconsider the case of the respondent for appointment on compassionate grounds, holding that the old scheme applied and the new scheme was only prospective in operation. The said order was affirmed by the Division Bench by order dated 1.9.2008, which is under challenge in this appeal by special leave.

4. Learned counsel for the Bank submitted that even though the respondent's father died on 1.10.2004, the application for compassionate appointment was made only in June 2005; that before the application could be processed, the compassionate appointment scheme was abolished and was replaced by a new scheme on 4.8.2005; and that therefore, the Bank was justified in calling upon the respondent to apply under the new ex-gratia scheme.

5. On the other hand, learned counsel for the respondent submitted that on the date of death of his father and on the date of making the application, the compassionate appointment scheme was in force and therefore, he was entitled to be considered for compassionate appointment under the said scheme.

6. It is now well settled that appointment on compassionate grounds is not a source of recruitment. On the other hand it is an exception to the general rule that recruitment to public services should be on the basis of merit, by an open invitation providing equal opportunity to all eligible persons to participate in the selection process. The dependants of employees, who die in harness, do not have any special claim or right to employment, except by way of the concession that may be extended by the employer under the Rules or by a separate scheme, to enable the family of the deceased to get over the sudden financial crisis. The claim for compassionate appointment is therefore traceable only to the scheme framed by the employer for such employment and there is no right whatsoever outside such scheme. An appointment under the scheme can be made only if the scheme is in force and not after it is abolished/withdrawn. It follows therefore that when a scheme is abolished, any pending application seeking appointment under the