JUDGMENT :

Karunesh Singh Pawar, J.

Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel for respondent No. 1 to 4.

2. Through this petition the petitioner has prayed for the following relief :

''(a) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari quashing the impugned order dated 17.10.2016 (Annexure 1' to this writ petition) passed by the respondent No. 2 as well as impugned order dated 21.10.2016 and 13.6.2022 (Annexure 2' & 3' respectively to this writ petition) passed by the respondent No. 3.

(b) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus commanding upon the respondents to grant compassionate appointment to the petitioner in the respondent department, forthwith.''

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the mother of the petitioner who was a Government servant and was serving as Mukhya Sevika in the office of Child Development Project Kanpur (Pratham), Kanpur Nagar has died on 20.2.2016 while she was in service. The petitioner being the elder son alongwith two sisters in the family submitted an application for compassionate appointment on 3.5.2016 alongwith requisite documents. The Director Child Development, Nursing and Nutrition, U.P. Lucknow rejected the petitioner's application for compassionate appointment vide impugned order dated 17.10.2016 and by a consequent order, the District Program Officer Kanpur has also issued impugned order dated 21.10.2016. Thereafter he gave a representation before the authorities that was also rejected vide order dated 13.6.2022 by the District Program Officer, Kanpur.

4. Learned Standing Counsel has opposed the petition submitting that both the parents of the petitioner were in Government service. The mother Munni Devi @ Munni Kushwaha who was working as Mukhya Sevika in the office of Child Development Project Kanpur (Pratham), Kanpur Nagar died in the year 2016, however, Shri Umesh Kumar who is the father of the petitioner was working in the State Secretariat, therefore, the authorities found that since the father of the petitioner who is the bread earner of the family was still employed with the State Government, there is no occasion for giving the benefit of compassionate appointment to the petitioner.

5. The compassionate appointment to the dependents of the deceased, Government servant is provided under Rule-5 of The U.P. Recruitment of Dependants of Government Servants Dying in Harness Rules, 1974 (hereinafter referred as 1974 Rules) which are extracted below :

''5. Recruitment of a member of the family of the deceased.-(1) In case a Government servant dies in harness after the commencement of these rules and the spouse of the deceased Government servant is not already employed under the Central Government or a State Government or a Corporation owned or controlled by the Central Government or a State Government, one member of his family who is not already employed under the Central Government or a State Government or a Corporation owned or controlled by the Central Government or a State Government shall, on making an application for the purposes, be given a suitable employment in Government service on a post except the post which is within the purview of the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission, in relaxation of the normal recruitment rules, if such person-

(i) fulfils the educational qualifications prescribed for the post,

(ii) is otherwise qualified for Government service, and

(iii) makes the application for employment within five years from the date of the death of the Government servant:

Provided that where the State Government is satisfied that the time limit fixed for making the application for employment causes undue hardship in any particular case, it may dispense with or relax the requirement as it may consider necessary for dealing with the case in a just and equitable manner.

(2) As far as possible, such an employment should be given in the same department in which the deceased Government servant was employ