JUDGMENT :

Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, J.

CIVIL APPEAL No.12015 OF 2018

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal arises from a judgment of a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court dated 1 April 2016.

3. The father of the respondent, Ramlakhan Tripathi was employed as a Technician, Grade-I in Central Railways at Mumbai. He died in harness on 28 November 2009. The deceased employee had contracted a second marriage during the subsistence of his first marriage. The respondent is the son born from the second marriage of the employee. The second marriage, as it appears, was contracted in 1987. The respondent applied for compassionate appointment on the death of his father. The application was rejected on 6 March 2012 by the Railway Authorities. Aggrieved by the denial of compassionate appointment, the respondent moved an Original Application before the Central Administrative Tribunal. The Tribunal having held in favour of the respondent and upon the dismissal of a petition seeking review, the Union of India and the Railway Authorities instituted writ proceedings before the Bombay High Court.

4. In support of the writ petition, the appellants relied upon a circular of the Railway Board dated 2 January