Compassionate appointments are exceptions to general recruitment norms, governed by strict eligibility criteria focused on immediate financial hardship following a breadwinner's death.

JUDGMENT :

Ajay Bhanot, J.

1. Heard Sri Mujib Ahmad Siddiqui, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri Krishna Mohan Asthana, learned counsel assisted by Sri Sagar Srivastava, learned counsel for the respondents.

2. The father of the petitioner was an employee of the respondent bank who died in harness on 12.04.2016. The claim of the petitioner for grant of appointment on compassionate grounds has been declined by the impugned order dated 14.09.2018.

3. The appointment on compassionate ground has been declined on the footing that the total income of the petitioner's family from all sources exceeds the threshold criteria of Rs. 35,000/- per month. Hence the family does not face financial destitution and the applicant is not entitled for appointment on compassionate grounds.

4. Heard learned counsel for the parties.

5. Appointments to public posts, government services and to various instrumentalities of the State within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India are governed and regulated by comprehensive provisions contained in the Constitution. The constitutional scheme envisages an open recruitment and a transparent procedure which enables maximum participation from eligible segments of the citizenry at large. The final appointments are made after a fair selection based on competitive merit. While making the said appointments the reservation policy or affirmative action under the Constitution for representation and empowerment of backward classes, SCs/STs and other sections of the society identified as per law has to be duly adhered to. The recruitment and appointment to government services and government undertakings were examined by constitutional courts in the context of Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution of India. Holdings of the constitutional courts have irretrievably entrenched the aforesaid modes and procedures for appointments to posts in the government and Article 12 instrumentalities in the body of the constitutional law.

6. On the contrary compassionate ground appointments are not made through a transparent and public process of recruitment after inviting the applications from the open market. The appointments on compassionate ground entail deviation from regular processes of recruitment, and are an exception to the aforesaid constitutionally mandated scheme for appointments to posts in the government and in government undertakings. Compassionate appointments emanate from specific service rules holding the field and have been rationalized by service law jurisprudence evolved by Constitutional Courts.

7. The appointments on compassionate ground passed the test of constitutional validity by a slender margin. Dependents of a deceased employee face unforeseen financial destitution after the death of the latter and need urgent succour. Compassionate appointments are made only to enable the family of the deceased employee to tide over the immediate financial crisis caused by the death of the earning member of the family. This feature alone constituted the dependent kin of a deceased employee into one class and on this sole footing the rationale of compassionate ground appointments was justified by Constitutiona