Married daughters are entitled to compassionate appointment, and discrimination based on marital status violates Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution.

JUDGMENT :

1. This writ petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for the following relief :

"......to issue writ order or direction more particularly writ of mandamus declaring the action of the respondents in not granting appointment to the petitioner on compassionate grounds in the cadre of sweeper in the establishment of the 3rd respondent temple in the place of her father V. Jagadeesh as bad illegal arbitrary and violative of Articles 14, 16 and 21 of the Constitution of India and consequently direct the respondents to appoint the petitioner as sweeper from the date of the death of her father i.e., w.e.f. 24.06.2013 and to grant all consequential service and monetary benefits and pass...."

2. The grievance of the petitioner is that her father while working as Sweeper on regular basis in the establishment of 3rd respondent temple has died on 24.06.2013 leaving behind his two daughters i.e., the petitioner herein and her elder sister namely Edukondalu Mohana. It is stated that after demise of her father, they have approached the office of the 3rd respondent temple seeking release of the monetary and service benefits of her father and submitted representations dated 11.10.2014, 21.01.2015 and 13.06.2015 alongwith the Transfer Certificate and other relevant documents. Accordingly, the then Executive Officer has issued proceedings dated .06.2015 to produce the Succession Certificate. As such the petitioner has approached the Hon'ble Principal Senior Civil Judge, Vijayawada and filed SOP No.95/2015 and obtained Succession Certificate vide order dated 04.02.2016. The then Executive Officer of the 3rd respondent temple has issued proceedings dated 25.11.2016 to produce the Decree copy of obtaining Divorce from her husband as the petitioner has requested to grant compassionate appointment as her husband deserted the petitioner. Thereafter, the petitioner has submitted representation dated 29.01.2017 informing to the then Executive Officer, she could not trace the whereabouts of her husband and requested to grant appointment on compassionate grounds in the place of her father. Later, the Executive Officer of the 3rd respondent temple has issued proceedings dated 08.02.2019 to release the death benefits of petitioner father to the petitioner and her sister. While the matter stood thus, the petitioner has submitted another representation recently on 20.03.2021 to the respondent Nos.2 and 3 requesting them to grant compassionate appointment in the cadre of sweeper in the place of her deceased father alongwith the relevant G.O. Ms. No.1357 dated 18.07.2011. But the respondents have not taken any action so far. Hence the present writ petition came to be filed.

3. The counter-affidavit has been filed by the 2nd respondent denying all the allegations made in the petition. Inter alia, it is stated that the petitioner has to place material evidence before claim appointment on compassionate grounds that she is dependent on the deceased employee by the time of death of her father while in service. Admittedly the petitioner is a married daughter of deceased employee and she has been living alongwith her husband ever since her marriage and not living with her father after her marriage particularly at the time of death of her father. No doubt, as per G.O. Ms. No.350, GA (Ser.A) Department, dated 30.07.1999 the married daughter is eligible for appointment on compassionate grounds when there is only a married daughter to the deceased employee without older or younger brothers and sist