Point of Law: If the marital status of a son does not make any difference in Law to his entitlement for seeking appointment on compassionate grounds, the marital status of a daughter should make no difference, as the married daughter does not seize to be a part of the family and Law cannot make an assumption that married sons alone continue to be the part of the family.

ORDER :

The Writ Petition is filed aggrieved by the proceedings dated 22.09.2021 issued by the 3rd respondent as also letter dated 21.10.2021 of the 4th respondent in rejecting the case of the petitioner for compassionate appointment as illegal, arbitrary, unjust, to quash the same and for a consequential direction to the respondents to appoint the petitioner, in any suitable post, on compassionate grounds.

2. Heard Mr.M.R.S.Srinivas, learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Assistant Government Pleader for Services-III representing the respondents.

3. The basic facts, as set out in the affidavit filed in support of the Writ Petition, may be stated for better appreciation of the petitioner’s case.

4. The petitioner is the only daughter of one Peddisetty Uma Maheswara Rao, who died on 05.05.2021 due to COVID-19, while he was working as watchman in P.W.D. Workshop Division, Sitanagaram, Guntur District. The wife of the said Uma Maheswara Rao is uneducated, dependent on the deceased and the petitioner being the daughter of the deceased, not survived by siblings, sought for compassionate appointment claiming inter alia, that there is no earning member in the family and further that her husband one Sri Y.Srinivasa Rao is not also gainfully employed. Though she submitted the relevant certificates, the respondents rejected her case mainly on the ground that the petitioner is a married daughter and as such she is not entitled for compassionate appointment. In this regard reliance was placed on Government Memo No.406/10/A.I/Admn.II/2004 dated 20.03.2004.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner, inter alia, submits that as per G.O.Ms.No.350, General Administration (SER-A) Department dated 30.07.1999 when there is only a married daughter to the deceased Government employee, without elder or younger brother or sisters and the spouse of the deceased Government employee is not willing to avail the compassionate appointment, such married daughter may be considered for compassionate appointment, provided she is dependent on the deceased Government employee subject to satisfying other conditions and instructions issued on the scheme from time to time. In the light of the said G.O., the learned counsel submits that the Memo referred to above, has no statutory or legal basis and the same cannot override G.O.Ms.No.350 dated 30.07.1999. He further submits that the petitioner’s only brother predeceased their father and the petitioner has to look after her mother and further that there is no other earning member in the family, including the petitioner’s husband. The learned counsel also contends that the petitioner was dependent on her father as her husband is not gainfully employed and the order of rejection solely on the ground that the petitioner is a married daughter amounts to discrimination as the married daughters are placed under a separate class, which has no proximate nexus and object sought to be achieved to mitigate financial difficulties and provide support to the family of the deceased employee, who dies in harness. He also states that the Government of Andhra Pradesh, G.A.D.(SER.A) Department issued Circular Memo No.1512950/Ser.A/2021 dated 21.10.2021 to provide compassionate appointments to the kith and kin of the Government employees, died due to COVID-19. The learned counsel further places reliance on the judgment of a Division Bench in Commissioner of Police and Others v. K.Padmaja, 2013 (4) ALT 501 and also a recent judgment of a learned Single Judge in W.P.No.10340 of 2014 dated 26.02.2021 and urges that the Writ Petition deserves to be allowed, in the light of the above referred judgments.

6. Per contra, the learned Assistant Government Pleader while reiterating the contentions raised in the counter-affidavit submits that the case of the petitioner is not considered by the authorities as the petitioner is a married daughter, who is not dependent on her deceased father and as such the proceedings impugned in the Writ Petition