Nagendra Rai, J.

1. The petitioner has filed the present writ application for quashing the communication dated 10.5.1999 issued under the signature of the District Establishment Deputy Collector, Muzaffarpur, informing the petitioner about the decision of the District Compassionate Committee dated 10.12.98 rejecting the claim of the petitioner for appointment on compassionate ground in place of his mother, Dharohar Devi. A copy of the said communication has been annexed as Annexure-1 to the writ application.

2. The facts necessary for disposal of the application lies in a narrow compass. Father of the petitioner Baidyanath Choudhary was employed as Clerk in the District Land Reforms Office, Muzaffarpur and superannuated as such on 30th September, 1996. The mother of the petitioner Dharohar Devi was appointed and working as an Assistant Teacher in Government Primary School, Sherpur, Kanti, Muzaffarpur, and she died on 9.9.97. Thus, the father and mother of the petitioner were in Government service and the father superannuated and the mother died while in service.

3. The Government of Bihar has issued Circulars from time to time making provisions for appointment on compassionate ground in case of death of a serving Government employee on fulfilment of certain conditions mentioned in the said Circulars with a view to mitigate the hardship caused to the family after the death of the sole bread-earner. The last Circular after superseding the earlier Circulars was issued by the Government of Bihar, Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department on 5th October, 1991, which contains detailed provisions with regard to the procedure for appointment on compassionate ground. The petitioner applied for appointment on compassionate ground which has been rejected by the District Compassionate Committee on 10.12.1998 on the ground that the father of the petitioner, though retired, is receiving pension and the same is sufficient to mitigate the hardship caused to the family.

4. This case was placed before a learned single Judge under the heading for admission. Before him it was submitted on behalf of the petitioner that clause 1(Anga) of the aforesaid Circular dated 5th October, 1991, which provides, inter alia, that if both the husband and wife are in Government service and one of them dies then the benefits of compassionate appointment will not be available to the dependant, is not applicable in the case of the petitioner as his father had already retired before the death of his mother. In support of the submission counsel for the petitioner relied upon a single Judge decision of this Court in the case of Bijoy Kumar V/s. State of Bihar & others 1998(3) B.L.J. 803. The learned single Judge after having noticed that on the one hand the petitioner has a right to claim appointment on compassionate ground being the son of the deceased State Government employee, and on the other hand he cannot make such claim being the son of the retired State Government employee opined that the decision given by the learned single Judge in the case of Bijoy Kumar (supra) requires reconsideration and accordingly referred the matter to Division Bench by order dated 2.3.2000.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the clause 1(Anga) of the Government Instruction dated 5th October, 1991 is not applicable in the case of the petitioner as on the date when his mother died the father was not in service and as such the petitioner deserves appointment on compassionate ground.

6. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the State, on the other hand, submitted that the case of the petitioner is covered by the aforesaid policy decision. The father and the mother both were in Government service. The father of the petitioner was getting pension and had also received the retiral benefits at the time of the death of his mother and as such the family was in a position to tide over the crisis caused due to untimely death of the deceased. The sole object for ap