The main legal point established in the judgment is that the government's notification creating a distinction in compassionate appointments based on the date of appointment of the deceased teachers was illegal, arbitrary, and violative of constitutional provisions. The court emphasized the application of the 2006 Rules in determining compassionate appointments for legal heirs and directed compliance with the recommendations of the Compassionate Committee.

1. Petitioners in these writ applications are the dependents and legal heirs of Assistant Teachers, who died in harness, while working in Primary and Middle Schools. Some of the Petitioners had applied for their compassionate appointment and the District Compassionate Appointment Committee had recommended for their appointment on Class-Mi Government posts, in case of non-availability of Class-Ill posts on any Government Class-IV posts. In cases of some petitioners, their applications for compassionate appointment have been returned by the District Compassionate Appointment Committee, in view of the order issued by the Deputy Secretary, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Government of Bihar, Patna vide letter no. 2955 dated 22.6. 2009. Through this letter a direction has been issued by the Deputy Secretary, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms that the District Compassionate Appointment Committee will not make any recommendation for compassionate appointment in case of legal heirs of teachers and non-teaching employees in Primary and Middle Schools, for any Government Class-Ill and Class-IV posts. Their cases will be considered by the competent Committee for compassionate appointment on the posts of Panchayat and Prakhand Teachers in fixed salary.

2. Petitioners have prayed for quashing of letter No. 2955 dated 22.6.2009 on the ground that it is arbitrary, unwarranted, unconstitutional and violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. Further prayer of the petitioners is for a direction to the respondents to appoint them on compassionate ground on any Class-lll/Class-IV Government posts as per their eligibility and recommendation of the District Compassionate Appointment Committee. Petitioners have also prayed for a direction to the District Compassionate Committee to recommend their cases for appointment on Government posts by recalling their applications as the applications have been returned in the light of letter No. 2955 dated 22.6.2009.

3. The Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Government of Bihar, Patna, vide resolution no. 12754 dated 12.7.1977 had made provisions for compassionate appointment of dependents/ legal heirs of those Government employees, who died in harness. The recommendation was to be made on any Class-Ill and Class- IV posts as per the eligibility. This provision was made to give financial support to the family of Government employee dying in harness, as on account of sudden death of bread earner, the family was forced to face starvation and serious financial hardship. Time to time some changes were made in the resolution relating to period of limitation for filing an application and the list of dependents but so far the constitution of the Compassionate Committee and the effect of recommendation made by the Compassionate Committee is concerned, it remained unchanged. In case of death of Government employee in harness, the recommendation of Compassionate Committee was to be followed by the concerned Department and its authorities where the deceased employee used to work. The authorities in the Department had to issue appointment letter as per the recommendation of the District Compassionate Appointment Committee. The District Compassionate Committee used to consider the application of compassionate appointment of legal heirs of such Government employees, who died in harness. The meeting of the Compassionate Committees are held under the Chairmanship of the District Magistrate and the departmental heads of each Department as members. Recommendations made by the Committees are final and it cannot be altered by any individual officer, on its own decision. Any review, change, alteration is to be made by the Committee itself.

4. In the State of Bihar, imparting School education at primary, middle and High School Levels is primary responsibility of the State Government. In the past, the State Government established some Schools which were