IMPORTANT POINT
Compassionate appointments must be sought promptly to address immediate financial crises; delays can render claims stale and invalidate the purpose of such provisions.

JUDGMENT :

N. UNNI KRISHNAN NAIR, J.

1. Heard Md. S. Hoque, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. P. Nayak, learned standing counsel, PWD, and Mr. C.K.S. Baruah, learned Government Advocate, appearing on behalf of their respective respondents.

2. The petitioner, herein, by way of instituting this present proceeding, has assailed the minutes of the meeting, dated 23.12.2019, of the State Level Committee, rejecting the claim of the petitioner, herein, for appointment on compassionate ground.

3. As projected in the writ petition, the father of the petitioner late Abdul Khaleque, while serving as a Chowkidaar in the Executive Engineer, PWD(Rural Roads) Division, Goalpara, had died in harness on 08.01.2015. The petitioner, in pursuance to the death of his father, had submitted an application, in appropriate format, before the Executive Engineer, PWD(Rural Roads) Division, Goalpara, on 20.01.2015 for consideration of his case for appointment on compassionate ground.

4. The case of the petitioner on being placed before the jurisdictional District Level Committee, on consideration, was recommended on 29.04.2015, for appointment against a Grade-IV vacancy so identified in the matter and the recommendations so made in favour of the petitioner, herein, was forwarded to the State Level Committee for consideration.

5. It is contended that the State Level Committee in its meeting held on 19.06.2018, had rejected the claim of the petitioner on account of lack of vacancies. The said rejection as made in the matter by the State Level Committee was assailed by the petitioner by way of instituting a writ petition being WP(c)2518/2019 before this Court and this Court, vide order, dated 11.04.2019, noticing the provisions of the Office Memorandum, dated 01.06.2015, directed for placement of the case of the petitioner before the State Level Committee for re-consideration by considering the provisions of paragraph No. 15 of the said Office Memorandum, dated 01.06.2015, i.e. against vacancies available in other departments other than the vacancy as identified by the jurisdictional District Level Committee in the matter.

6. It is in pursuance to the directions passed by this Court vide order, dated 11.04.2019, in WP(c)2518/2019, that the case of the petitioner was again placed before the State Level Committee in its meeting held on 23.12.2019. The minutes of the said meeting, dated 23.12.2019, reveals that the case of the petitioner on being considered, was rejected on the ground of lack of vacancy within the quota prescribed for compassionate appointment. Further reason was assigned that the case of the petitioner was not liable to be considered on the basis of financial need in-as-much as the economically weaker persons were first considered for appointment against Grade-IV posts. Being aggrieved; the petitioner has instituted the present proceeding.

7. It is to be noted that the death of the petitioner’s father had occasioned on 08.01.2015. Thereafter, it is seen that the case of the petitioner was considered by the constituted Committees and the decision of the State Level Committee as arrived at in the matter in its meeting held on 23.12.2019, insofar as the case of the petitioner is noticed hereinabove.

8. From the writ petition, it is seen that with effect from the date of the death of the father of the petitioner which had occasioned on 08.01.2015; almost 9 years have since elapsed and accordingly, after lapse of such a considerable period of time, the purport for appointment on compassionate ground naturally stands diluted and lost.

9. The materials on record reveal that the family of the petitioner had sustained for the last about 9 years and as such, the immediate object behind the grant of appointment on compassionate ground being to mitigate the hardship caused to the family due to death of the bread earner in the family and also, it being a settled position of law that compassionate appointment cannot be claimed after lapse of conside