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2009 Supreme(All) 1310
[2009(4) ADJ 512]
ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT
BEFORE : DILIP GUPTA, J.
VIKAS PANDEY ....Petitioner
Versus
BANARAS HINDU UNIVERSITY AND OTHERS .....Respondents
(Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 5019 of 2006, decided on 10th April, 2009)
Counsel :
Lal Babu Lal for the Petitioner; Pankaj Naqvi for Respondent-University; Arun Prakash, Samar Bahadur and Addl. Solicitor General of India for the Respondents.
Headnote:Appointment—Compassionate appointment—Claim of petitioner to be adopted son of deceased-employee, working as a Group "D" employee in respondent-University, who died in harness on 9.5.1983, while serving as a peon—Petitioner, whose date of birth was 10.6.1980, and was only three years old when deceased-employee died—Petitioner submitted an application seeking compassionate appointment after he attained majority—Rejected by University authorities—Hence, petition—Held, appointment on compassionate ground, cannot be claimed as a matter of right—It was given to tide over immediate difficulties faced by family of deceased—Moreover, a minor cannot claim appointment on compassionate ground, unless scheme itself envisages that as and when such a minor becomes a major, he can be appointed without any time consciousness, or time-limit—In instant case, application filed by petitioner after a delay of twenty years and only reason for delay was that he was a minor at a time when his father died in harness—Held, no direction can be issued to grant appointment to petitioner on compassionate ground. [Paras 2, 8, 15, 16, 17 to 20]
Hon’ble Dilip Gupta, J.—The petitioner who had sought appointment on compassionate grounds in the Banaras Hindu University (hereinafter referred to as the ‘University’) has sought the quashing of the order dated 9th June, 2006 by which his claim was rejected. The petitioner has also sought the quashing of the order dated 28/29th September, 2006 whereby the petitioner was informed that this request cannot be accepted as his claim had been rejected earlier.
2. The petitioner claims to be the adopted son of Aditya Narain Pandey who was working as a Group ‘D’ employee in the University and who had died in harness on 9th May, 1983 while serving as a peon. The petitioner whose date of birth is 10th June, 1980 was, therefore, only three years old when Aditya Narain Pandey died. The petitioner submitted an application seeking appointment on compassionate ground after he attained majority. This application was received in the office of the Registrar of the University on 20th August, 2003. The University by the communication dated 10/16th November, 2004 informed the petitioner that the request for compassionate appointment was considered by the Appointments Committee of the University in its meeting held on 2nd September, 2004 but the aforesaid Committee did not accept his request because the application was barred by time. The petitioner again submitted an application dated 17th May, 2005 before the University mentioning therein that he had earlier submitted an application before the University when he was a minor but that application was rejected on the ground that appointment could not be given to a minor. He, therefore, prayed that compassionate appointment may now be given to him. This application was also rejected by the University by the order dated 9th June, 2006. Not being satisfied, the petitioner submitted yet another application dated 7th August, 2006 seeking compassionate appointment. This application was also rejected by the University by the communication dated 28/29th September, 2006 mentioning therein that his case was placed before the Compassionate Appointment Committee of the University which in its meeting held on 29th August, 2006 observed that his case had already been considered and rejected on 30th September, 2005 as being barred by time. The petitioner was also informed that any request made by him in future for this purpose will not be entertained.
3. Sri Lal Babu Lal, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that even though the petitioner was a minor when Aditya Narain Pandey died in harness on 9th May, 1983 but after attaining majority, the petitioner filed an application in the University on 20th August, 2003 seeking compassionate appointment but the said application was wrongly rejected on the ground that it was filed beyond the period prescribed under the Rules. He further submitted that the University has failed to take into consideration the fact that as a minor the petitioner could not have been granted appointment earlier.
4. Sri Pankaj Naqvi, learned counsel appearing for the respondent-University has contended that the Executive Council in its meeting on 18/19th January, 1986 had clearly resolved that request for consideration on compassionate grounds must be made within five years of the death of the employee and subsequent requests cannot be acceded to. He further submitted that the petitioner is seeking appointment on compassionate ground as an adopted son but the affidavit in support of the writ petition has been filed by his father Om Prakash Pandey.
5. In order to appreciate the contentions advanced by the learned counsel for the parties it would first be appropriate to ascertain why compassionate appointment is provided to a member of the deceased employee.
6. The Supreme Court in Commissioner of Public Instructions and others v. K.R. Vishwanath, 2005 AIR SCW 4102, dealt at length with the object regarding compassionate ground and observed :
