IMPORTANT POINT
The government cannot benefit from its own wrong, and a valuable right accrued due to the appellants' inaction.

JUDGMENT :

There is a delay of 1140 days in preferring the appeal.

2. An application for condonation of delay is filed on 15th September, 2016. The appeal has arisen out of a Judgment and Order dated 24th June, 2013 in connection with a writ petition filed by the son of a Group-D employee, who was his mother. His mother died on 11th August, 2005. The writ petitioner did not attain majority in 2007 and had applied for compassionate appointment on 25th October, 2008 and 25th June, 2009. His request for compassionate appointment has been turned down by the respondent authorities on the ground that the application for such compassionate appointment was made more than two years after the death of his mother.

3. The Learned Single Judge on consideration of the materials on record and relying upon the judgment of the Hon’ble Division Bench in Chairman, District Primary School Council –Vs-. Sri Prithwish Samanta reported in (2011) 1 WBLR 664, allowed the writ petition.

4. The Learned Single Judge has also relied upon paragraph 6 of the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Govind Prakash Verma –vs-Life Insurance Corporation of India & Ors. reported in (2005) 10 SCC 289 and arrived at a finding that the receipt of terminal benefits could not be a ground for refusing compassionate appointment because in spite of receiving terminal benefits there may be need for compassionate appointment.

5. Moreover, the writ petitioner could only enjoy the pension of his deceased mother till the age of 25 years, as per the rules.

6. Learned Counsel representing the appellants submits that in views of the judgment of the Larger Bench in Piali Saha –Vs-State of West Bengal reported in (2013) 1 CHN 18, the period of two years contemplated under Rule 14 of the West Bengal Primary Teachers’ Recruitment Rules, 2001 is not extendable in view of the fact that the writ petitioner did not apply within the two years from 11th August, 2005 and in view thereof the case of the writ petitioner could not have been considered by the Learned Trial Court.

7. It is further submitted that the Hon’ble Larger Bench did not accept the interpretation of Rule 14 given in Sri Prithwish Samanta (supra) which had clearly stated that while construing the Rule 14, the time cannot be extended by complying the provision of Section 6(1) of the Limitation Act.

8. It is submitted that the application for condonation of delay is required to be considered with mercy and the explanation offered for not being able to file the appeal within the period of limitation in the instant case shall be considered liberally.

9. It is also submitted that in view of the fact that the appellant has a strong arguable case on merits in view of the judgment of the Larger Bench in Piali Saha (supra) dealing with similar situation, an opportunity should be given to the appellants to have a decision on merits.

10. Learned Counsel for the writ petitioner has submitted that following the judgment steps have been taken by the appellants to enlist the name of the writ petitioner in the register and in fact they have accepted the judgment of the Learned Single Judge and in this regard two communications dated 3rd January, 2014 and 19th December, 2015 have been produced.

11. It is submitted that the writ petitioner has furnished all the required documents and after the judgment was accepted, this application has been filed for condonation of delay without offering any explanation whatsoever for the delay caused.

12. We have carefully read the application for condonation of delay. It is a fact that in spite of notice, the appellants were not represented and no explanation was offered for not contesting the writ petition. In fact, nothing had prevented the appellants to approach the Learned Single Bench for recalling of the order and for consideration of the matter on merits.

13. The impugned judgment was passed on June 24, 2013 and the application for condonation of delay was filed on 6th September, 2016 i.e. after