Compassionate appointment must adhere to the prescribed regulations, and the purpose is to provide immediate financial assistance to the family of the deceased employee.

JUDGMENT :

Sujit Narayan Prasad, J.

The instant intra-court appeal preferred under Clause-10 of the Letters Patent is directed against the order/judgment dated 24.07.2020 passed by the learned Single Judge of this Court in W.P.(S) No.7019 of 2019, whereby and whereunder, the impugned order dated 11.08.2019, by which, the claim of the writ petitioner for appointment on compassionate ground has been rejected, has been refused to be interfered with by dismissing the writ petition.

2. The brief facts of the case, as per the pleading made in the writ petition are required to be enumerated, which read as under:-It is the case of the writ petitioner that the father of the appellant was Assistant Teacher in Government Middle School, Kanarowa in the district of Gumla who died in harness on 16.05.2007.

On 10.10.2007, the Circle Officer, Bharno issued a Dependency Certificate in favour of mother of the appellant. There was none in the family of the appellant to support and due to pre-mature death of his father, the entire family has been put to a great financial crisis.

Thereafter, the mother of the appellant has made an application before the competent authority to consider the case of the appellant when he would attain the age of majority. Vide letter no.348 dated 23.07.2018, the Block Education Extension Officer, Bharno forwarded the application to respondent no.4-District Superintendent of Education, Gumla for consideration. Vide letter no.903 dated 18.03.2019, the respondent no.4 placed the case of the appellant for consideration before the District Compassionate Appointment Committee through the respondent no.3-District Establishment Deputy Collector, Gumla on 26.07.2019. Vide letter no.600(ii) dated 27.07.2019, the respondent no.3 intimated that on 23.07.2018, the application of the appellant for employment was made available to his office, i.e., after 11 years of death of the father of the appellant and therefore, due to such delay, the case of the appellant was not considered. Vide letter no.6634 dated 11.08.2019, the respondent no.2-Deputy Commissioner, Gumla intimated the respondent no.4 that the District Compassionate Appointment Committee in its meeting held on 05.08.2019, declined to entertain such application of the appellant.

It is evident that the writ petitioner has made an application for consideration of his case for appointment on compassionate ground and as per the writ petitioner, the said application was made after attaining the age of majority but the same having been rejected vide order dated 11.08.2019, against which, writ petition being W.P.(S) No.7019 of 2019 has been filed but the same has been dismissed on the ground that the application so made having been filed after lapse of period of five years, which is the subject matter of the instant appeal.

3. Mr. Ashim Kumar Sahani, learned counsel for the writ petitioner-appellant has submitted that there is no laches on the part of the writ petitioner, since, admittedly he was minor at the time of death of his father. But the moment when he has attained his majority, the application for consideration of his case for appointment on compassionate ground was made.

The authority ought to have taken into consideration the bona fide delay caused in making application but having not done so, the impugned order dated 11.08.2019 has been passed, therefore, the order impugned suffers from illegality.

It has been contended by the learned counsel for the appellant-writ petitioner that the aforesaid aspect of the matter has also not been considered by the learned Single Judge by refusing to interfere with the impugned order.

4. Per contra, Mrs. Shivani Kapoor, learned AC to SC-II appearing for the respondent-State has submitted that the very scheme under which the consideration is to be made for appointment on compassionate ground is the Rule of 2015 enshrined under the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution of India which mandates that the application for consideration of appoint