The main legal point established in the judgment is that the scheme prevalent at the time of the death of the employee shall be the basis for considering the application for compassionate appointment. The court emphasized that compassionate appointment is not a vested right and depends on various circumstances such as eligibility and financial conditions of the family.

JUDGMENT

Harish Tandon, J. - These two writ petitions are taken up together as the common point of law was raised and argued by the appearing counsels. A question which is involved in the aforesaid writ petitions is whether an application for compassionate appointment at the behest of a dependent shall be considered on the rules prevalent at the time of the death of the employee or at the time of consideration of an application.

2. There has been a divergent opinion on the above and in fact, the matter was referred to a larger Bench and we have given to understand by the appearing counsels that the larger Bench has not decided as yet. However, in course of the hearing we have been taken to various judgments rendered by the Supreme Court even prior in time of the reference having made and/or thereafter.

3. Mr. Samanta, appearing for the writ petitioner in WPCT 99 of 2021 was persistently insisting for adjourning the matter sine die till the larger Bench decides the matter but we should not detain ourselves in comprehending the law as the Supreme Court consisting of three Judges have elucidated and analysed all the conflicting judgments and reinstated the law as it stands. To have more clarity we decided to succinctly elucidate the principle behind the concept of compassionate appointment.

4. The compassionate appointment is neither a vested right nor a constitutional right but based on concession with an avowed object to succour the family facing sudden financial jerk/crisis on untimely death of the bread earner. Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India provide equal opportunity in employment to all eligible candidates and, therefore, the concept of compassionate appointment is an exception thereto. The dependent of the family who suffered penury because of untimely death of the sole earner may be provided with sustenance by way of compassionate appointment in order to tide over the crisis but the same is dependent upon scheme to be framed by the nodal employer in this regard. In other words, in absence of any scheme or the rules framed by the employer with regard to the compassionate appointment, no right is vested upon the dependent of such family to claim appointment on compassionate ground. It is thus dependent upon the nature of the scheme - the modalities for consideration of the application, eligibility criteria and the financial stability of the family and so on and so forth. All these schemes framed for compassionate appointment have predominantly projected the financial crisis as a pivotal tool keeping in mind that the family having sufficient means to sustain in absence of the deceased employee should not be extended the benefit of such scheme. Predominantly, the financial status including the income of the family who lost the earning member has to be seen and such income is not sufficient enough to sustain the family. The reason for saying that it is not a vested right can be visualised from the core fact that none of the Schemes or Rules provide that the moment the employee dies in harness the dependent shall automatically be absorbed without looking into any other criteria on compassionate ground. The appointment on compassionate ground is an exception to a normal rule of employment enshrined in the constitutional provision. The same has to be construed strictly in the light of the provisions contained therein. Equally while construing the provisions of the Schemes/Rules, the approach should not be pedantic but pragmatic keeping in mind the object and purpose of such a Scheme because of the exception that the recruitment to public service is to be based on merit by making open invitation and providing equal opportunities to all eligible participants. The source of the compassionate appointment can be traced only from the Scheme or the Rules framed by the employer and the applications are to be decided within the four corners thereof. Such being the object and the purpose the Government as well as the statutory