IMPORTANT POINT
Compassionate appointment is intended to provide immediate relief to a family in crisis, and the objective would not survive after a substantial gap of seven years.

JUDGMENT :

Sanjay Kumar Medhi, J.

This intra Court appeal has been preferred in respect of a judgment dated 09.01.2024 passed by the learned Single Judge in WP(C)/ 7349 of 2023. By the aforesaid judgment, the writ petition of the appellant which was with regard to a claim for appointment on compassionate ground has been dismissed.

2. The projected case of the appellant before the learned Single Judge in a nutshell is that his father Nazmul Haque Mazarbhuiya who was serving as a Superintendent, Hailakandi Town Madrassa had died-in-harness on 21.08.2012. He left behind his wife and three minor children including the appellant. On such eventuality, the mother of the appellant had submitted an application on 08.11.2012 for appointment on compassionate ground which according to the appellant was not considered. After the appellant had attained the age of majority, he had submitted an application in the year 2019 which was however rejected by the District Level Committee in its meeting dated 05.10.2021 on the ground that the appellant was under age at the time of submission of the application. The aforesaid rejection was unsuccessfully challenged by the appellant before learned Single Judge and accordingly the present appeal has been preferred.

3. We have heard Shri M. H. Laskar, learned counsel for the appellant. We have also heard Ms. K. Das, learned Standing Counsel, Education Department and Shri R. K. Borah, learned State Counsel appearing for the respondent no. 3.

4. The learned counsel for the appellant has submitted that though initially, the mother of the appellant had applied for appointment on compassionate ground just after the expiry of the father of the appellant, such appointment was wrongfully denied to her. It is submitted that the mother of the appellant being purdahnishin lady could not pursue the matter before any Court of law. Accordingly, on attaining majority, the appellant had applied for the said post. It is submitted that the minutes of the meeting dated 05.10.2021 of the District Level Committee by which the candidature of the appellant was rejected is not sustainable as the relevant factors have not been taken into consideration and the learned Single Judge had failed to appreciate the aforesaid aspect of the matter. The learned counsel has also contended that the learned Single Judge disregarded the judgment of coordinate bench in a similar case.

5. Per contra, both the learned Standing Counsel for the Education Department and the learned State Counsel have supported the views of the learned Single Judge in the judgment dated 09.01.2024 and has prayed for dismissing the appeal.

6. The rival contentions of the learned counsel for the parties have been duly considered.

7. We have carefully perused the judgment dated 09.01.2024 of the learned Single Judge and the reasons cited for rejection of the writ petition. The learned Single Judge has come to a conclusion that though an application was initially contended to be submitted by the mother of the appellant, there is nothing on record to show that the same was pursued as there is no order of rejection of such application. The learned Single Judge has also relied upon the principles laid down on the subject of compassionate appointment by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of State of West Bengal Vs Debabrata Tiwari reported in (2023) SCC Online SC 219.

8. The facts on record make it clear that the death of the father of the appellant was on 21.08.2012 and the initial application was claimed to be made by the mother of the appellant which admittedly was not pursued. The appellant claims that after seven years, he had applied for appointment on compassionate ground on attaining the age of majority. The application annexed to the petition however does not bear any date of such application and even in the proforma, the date has been kept blank. Be that as it may, law is well settled on the field of appointment on the compassionate ground and even in a case where an ap