Compassionate appointment is meant to provide immediate succor to the family, and delay in filing the petition can render the need for immediate assistance redundant.

JUDGMENT :

G.S. Sandhawalia , J.

1. Prayer in the present writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is for compassionate appointment on the basis of the fact that father of the petitioner, Tarvinder Singh, who was working as Assistant Sub-Inspector with the Haryana Police had died on 10.08.2005, while in service. The claim is based on the policy dated 28.02.2003 and directions are sought for deciding the justice demand notice dated 27.08.2016 (Annexure P-8) and the subsequent representation dated 26.07.2019 (Annexure P-11).

2. The case came up for preliminary hearing on 17.12.2020 and counsel for the petitioner was asked to file an affidavit explaining the present financial position of the petitioner and his family, including the details of his family members. The affidavit was also to address as to how the family was able to tide over the crisis of losing the bread-winner as long back as in 2005 and whether they had other sources of livelihood.

3. The necessary affidavit though has not been filed. However, counsel for the petitioner submits that delay had occurred on account of the fact that a suit had been filed by Gurcharan Kaur, the second wife of the deceased employee, who had claimed right to the retiral benefits and the suit was dismissed on 11.11.2020. On 30.07.2014 (Annexure P-6), the appeal was partly allowed to the extent that Kanwaljit Singh, minor son from the second marriage was also held entitled for the share in the service retiral benefits since it was noticed that Gurcharan Kaur had not got divorced from her previous husband before she started living with Tarvinder Singh, the deceased employee and therefore, she was not the legally wedded wife. However, the legitimate son was held entitled to inherit the property. It has further been submitted that the entitlement for compassionate appointment would be on the strength of the policy which was in force at the time of death, while placing reliance upon the judgment of the Full Bench in Krishna Kumari Vs. State of Haryana & others 2012 (2) RSJ 473 and therefore, the stand of the State upon the Haryana Compassionate Assistance to the Dependents of Deceased Government Employee Rules, 2006, would have no applicability.

4. The State, in its reply, has clarified that the first wife, Jaswant Kaur had expired on 16.06.1989 i.e. 14 years before the date of death of father of the petitioner and a male child, namely Kanwaljit Singh was born on 13.07.1994 from the second marriage with Gurcharan Kaur who was given the benefit by the Lower Appellate Court to the share in the service retiral benefits. Therefore, the Treasury Officer, Ambala had been asked to divide the family pension. However, it was brought to the notice by the Accountant General, Haryana that the present petitioner had already attained the age of 25 years before the death of his father as his date of birth was 01.03.1978 and therefore, was not entitled for the share of the family pension.

5. Reliance by the State was also placed upon the judgment of the Apex Court in Union of India Vs. Sima Banerjee 2017 (1) RSJ 351 to submit that compassionate appointment should not be granted after a period of so many years. Similarly, reliance was also placed upon the judgment in CA-897-2021 titled Central Coalfields Limited through its Chairman and Managing Director & others Vs. Smt Parden Oraon, decided on 09.04.2021 wherein the Apex Court had set aside the judgment of the High Court wherein relief had been granted on the application for compassionate appointment which had been filed after more than 10 years of the employee going missing. A perusal of the file would go on to show that apart from the claim of pension made on 08.11.2005 (Annexure P-2), the petitioner had also claimed the benefit of compassionate appointment though not followed it up at that point of time and though he was more than 25 years of age at that point of time. He woke up only on 29.06.2011, i.e., 6 years thereafter, after the