The withdrawal of the compassionate appointment scheme prior to the employee's death means the petitioner is only entitled to benefits under the Compassionate Family Pension Scheme.

JUDGMENT :

Manish Choudhury, J.

Heard Mr. Z. Hammad, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. J.K. Goswami, learned Additional Senior Government Advocate, Assam for all the respondents.

2. The case projected in this writ petition by the petitioner, in brief, is that the father of the petitioner viz. Late Zakir Hussain was working as a UBC/333 in the D.E.F., Nagaon under the respondent no. 3. The petitioner’s father, Zakir Hussain died in harness on 25.07.2020 leaving behind his wife and other family members including the petitioner. In support of the said fact, the petitioner has annexed a copy of the death certificate issued on 17.08.2020 by the Registrar, Birth & Death, Tarabari MPHC, Nagaon, Assam as Annexure-2 to the writ petition.

3. It is the case of the petitioner that he passed the High School Leaving Certificate [HSLC] Examination in the year 2017 and his date of birth is 08.01.2001. The petitioner stated to have studied up to Higher Secondary level and he passed the Higher Secondary Final Examination held under the aegis of the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council in 2nd Division in the year 2019 and has annexed a copy of the pass certificate issued by the AHSEC on 25.05.2019. After the death of his father, the petitioner stated to have made an application before the respondent no. 3 seeking his appointment on compassionate ground along with all the requisite testimonials.

4. The grievance of the petitioner is that the petitioner despite submission of his application for appointment on compassionate ground, the respondent authorities, more particularly, the District Level Committee [DLC] did not intimate the fate of his application for appointment on compassionate ground.

5. Mr. Goswami, learned Additional Senior Government Advocate, Assam has submitted that the scheme for appointment on compassionate ground has since been withdrawn and accordingly all the office memorandums issued in connection had also been withdrawn. He has placed a copy of the extant scheme, scheme for Compassionate Family Pension in lieu of Compassionate appointment, notified by a Notification bearing no. FEG.28/2017/26 dated 14.09.2017 issued by the Finance Department, Government of Assam. Mr. Goswami by drawing support from the Notification dated 14.09.2017, has submitted that on and from 01.04.2017, no application on compassionate ground has been made as the scheme for compassionate appointment has already been withdrawn. Instead, it is the Compassionate Family Pension, which is payable to the family of a State Government employee who died in harness.

6. On perusal of the Notification dated 14.09.2017 [supra], it is noticed that by the said Notification, the said Notification has notified a scheme named ‘Scheme for Compassionate Family Pension in lieu of Compassionate Appointment’ [‘the CFP Scheme’, for short]. As per Clause 5.11 thereof, the CFP Scheme has been made applicable to those employees who died/die in harness on or after 01.04.2017.

7. As per the CFP Scheme, when an employee dies before superannuation, the family pension equal to 100% of the last pay drawn by the deceased employee be paid for a period up to the date of ‘deemed superannuation’ of the deceased employee, i.e. the date on which the employee would have superannuated had he been alive. The CFP Scheme has been brought on the terms that such a situation would compensate the loss of family income to a large extent and fulfill the requirement of compassionate conditions arising out of the death of the serving employee.

8. In view of non-existence of the scheme of appointment on compassionate ground on and from 01.04.2017 and enforcement of the Scheme for Compassionate Family Pension on and from 01.04.2017 granting family pension equal to 100% of the last pay drawn by the deceased employee to be paid for a period up to the date of deemed superannuation of the deceased employee, this petitioner, preferred by the petitioner seeking appointment on compassionate ground, is found unm