IMPORTANT POINT
Compassionate Appointment – Considering object and purpose of appointment on compassionate grounds, authorities must consider and decide such applications for appointment on compassionate grounds as per policy prevalent, at the earliest, but not beyond a period of six months from date of submission of such completed applications.

JUDGMENT :

M.R. SHAH, J.

1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order dated 26.10.2021 passed by the High Court of Orissa at Cuttack in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 28023/2021, by which the High Court has dismissed the said writ petition preferred by the appellant herein and has refused to direct the State authorities to appoint the appellant herein – original writ petitioner on compassionate ground, the original writ petitioner has preferred the present appeal.

2. The facts leading to the present appeal in a nutshell are as under :

That the father of the appellant herein – original writ petitioner was working as an Assistant Sub-Inspector in the Excise Department. He passed away on 02.01.2010 while in service. On the death of his father, the appellant applied for his appointment as a Junior Clerk on compassionate ground under the Orissa Civil Service (Rehabilitation Assistance) Rules, 1990 (hereinafter referred to as the “1990 Rules”) in July, 2010. It was the case on behalf of the appellant that his mother was unable to undertake a government job due to her medical condition. The said application was sent to the office of the Excise Commissioner, Orissa, Cuttack vide letter dated 3.8.2011. That thereafter the said application was forwarded to the Additional Secretary to the Government, Excise Department on 21.09.2011. The said application was not attended to by the Excise Department for a considerable period of five years. After a period of five years, the Additional Secretary vide letter/communication dated 9.9.2016 asked the Collector, Ganjam to furnish a fresh report regarding the financial condition of the family of the deceased government servant. Simultaneously, a report was also called for from CDMO, Ganjam to place the matter of the mother of the appellant before the Medical Board for proper examination to ascertain whether her inability to perform the government job continues. The CDMO, Ganjam constituted a Medical Board and examined the mother of the appellant and furnished a report to the Additional Secretary on 01.11.2016 stating that she was unfit for government job. The CDMO, Ganjam furnished another report dated 06.02.2017 to the same effect. It appears that thereafter a report from Tehsildar, Bellaguntha, which is the native place of the appellant, was also called for to ascertain financial condition and the Tehsildar submitted its report vide letter dated 28.10.2017 stating that the family income of the appellant from all sources does not exceed ceiling of Rs.72,000/-per annum.

2.1 Despite the above, the application of the appellant herein for appointment on compassionate ground was kept pending under consideration. However, before any further order appointing the appellant on compassionate ground under the 1990 Rules came to be passed, the 1990 Rules came to be replaced by the new Rules, namely, Odisha Civil Services (Rehabilitation Assistance) Rules, 2020 (hereinafter referred to as the “2020 Rules”), issued vide notification dated 17.02.2020. Under the 2020 Rules, one family member of the deceased government servant would be appointed on compassionate grounds to ‘Group D’ base level post. Therefore, the application of the appellant was being sent to the Collector for taking necessary action under the 2020 Rules by the office of the Excise Commissioner, Odisha, vide communication dated 26.04.2021.

2.2 Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the communication dated 26.04.2021, by which the case of the appellant herein was directed to be considered under the 2020 Rules, the appellant preferred the writ petition before the High Court. Before the High Court, it was the specific case on behalf of the appellant – original writ petitioner that the policy prevalent at the time when the application for compassionate ground was made, shall be applicable and not the subsequent scheme prevalent at the time of deciding the application. A number of decisions of this Court were relied upon. However,