ORDER :

1. The instant intra-court appeal, preferred under Clause 10 of the Letters Patent, is directed against the order/judgment dated 07/25.02.2021 passed by learned Single Judge of this Court in W.P. (S) No. 729 of 2018 by which the claim of the writ petitioner for monetary compensation in the light of the provisions contained under the National Coal Wage Agreement (NCWA), has been denied as not fit to be granted by observing that no interference is required in the order dated 21/23.09.2017.

2. Brief facts of the case as per the pleadings made in the writ proceeding, which are required to be enumerated herein, read as under:

It is the case of the appellant/writ petitioner that the husband of the appellant namely Prahlad Kumar was under the employment of the Respondent CCL in the capacity of Driller, CAT-IV, Kargali (UG), B&K Area:

(i) The husband of the writ petitioner, Prahlad Kumar, died in harness on 02.08.2000 and accordingly Death-cumfamily Certificate was issued by the B.D.O. Bermo, Bokaro.

(ii) On the basis of death certificate, the name of the husband of the writ petitioner was struck off from the roll of the Kargali UG Project w.e.f. the date of his death vide order dated 18.08.2000.

(iii) The writ petitioner applied for her compassionate appointment in place of her deceased husband by way of filing up the application in prescribed form for employment of the dependent under Clause 9.3.2/9.4.0 of the NCWA on 26.09.2001.

(iv) The writ petitioner was made to run from pillars to posts and thereafter also no action was taken by the respondents and thereafter after a long period of 16 years the respondents finally woke up from slumber and vide order 21/23.09.2017 as contained in memo no. 2555 issued under the signature of the Senior Manager (P/MP), Central Coalfields Ltd. Ranchi (Respondent No. 3) rejected the claim of the petitioner for her appointment on compassionate ground on the ground of limitation for applying for compassionate appointment. The aforesaid order dated 21/23.09.2017 also depicts that since there was a controversy of employment which was also claimed by the brother-in-law of the writ petitioner and the writ petitioner herself, therefore, owing to the dispute no employment was granted. Furthermore, the respondents acted on the representation of the writ petitioner for employment made on 29.08.2016, wherein the writ petitioner contended that since her mother-in-law and brother-in-law both have died and therefore, her employment must be processed.

3. It appears from the pleadings of the writ petition, so far as undisputed facts are concerned is that the husband of the writ petitioner who was working as Driller, Category-IV, Kargali (UG), B&K Area died in harness on 02.08.2000:

(i) The name of the husband of the writ petitioner was struck off from the roll of the Kargali UG Project w.e.f the date of his death vide order dated 18.08.2000.

(ii) The writ petitioner had applied for compassionate appointment by filing an application 26.09.2001, however the same was rejected on the ground that the application has been filed after a lapse of 1 year 2 months from the date of death of the employee i.e. 02.08.2000.

(iii) Thereafter she again represented for employment on 29.08.2016 but the same has been rejected holding therein that the appellant cannot be held to be dependent of the deceased employee as she was living separately as also the ground stipulated in the impugned order dated 21/23.09.2017 that by virtue of expiry of 17 years since the death of the employee i.e. on 02.08.2000, the basic purpose and object of compassionate appointment has since been evaporated.

(iv) Petitioner being aggrieved with the said order approached this Court in W.P. (S) No. 729 of 2018. The learned Single Judge, taking into consideration the fact that such claim has been made after expiry of 17 years as also the fact that appellant since, living in desertion, the very purpose of appointment on compassionate ground is not fit to be granted a