By ORDER Per: - Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member

1. The SWP No.2279/2019 was transferred from the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir at Jammu and was registered as T.A No.23/2020 by the Registry of this Tribunal.

2. The present matter was filed before the Hon’ble High Court seeking following relief: -

a) An appropriate writ, order or direction more particularly a writ of Mandamus whereby commanding and directing the respondents to appoint the petitioner as Teacher instead of Lab Assistant under the SRO-43 of 1994 (Compassionate Appointment Rules) on the same analogy as has been done in the case of the private respondents who were appointed on Compassionate grounds by infringing the Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India by adopting a different yard stick to the case of the petitioner.

b) Further the respondents be directed to consider the case of the petitioner for appointment as Teacher at par with the private respondents by giving the equal treatment as has been extended to the private respondents.

c) Any other relief which this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper under the facts and circumstances of the case.

3. The facts of the case as pleaded by the petitioner in her pleadings are as follows: -

a) The present Transfer Application arises out of SWP No. 2279/2019 which was originally filed before the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu and Kashmir at Jammu and was subsequently transferred to this Tribunal and registered as T.A. No. 23/2020.

b) The applicant, Ms. Preeti Sharma, is the daughter of Late Smt.Sangeeta Rani, who was serving as a Master in the School Education Department of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir. The mother of the applicant died in harness on 11.02.2016 while in active service, leaving the applicant as one of her dependents. The deceased employee was the sole breadwinner of the family and her death caused financial hardship to the family.

c) After the death of her mother, the applicant applied for appointment on compassionate grounds under the provisions of SRO-43 of 1994, which governs compassionate appointments in the State. Upon consideration of her case, the competent authority issued Order No. CEOR/NG/2017-18/2923-25 dated 26.04.2017 whereby the applicant was appointed as Lab Assistant and was adjusted in Higher Secondary School, Lamberi, District Rajouri. The applicant joined the said post and has been discharging her duties since then.

d) The applicant states that she possesses the qualification of B.Sc.and B.Ed., and according to her, she was eligible to be appointed to the post of Teacher in the School Education Department. She submits that after joining the service, she made several representations to the authorities requesting that her appointment be modified and that she be appointed as Teacher in view of her educational qualifications. According to the applicant, the authorities assured her that her grievance would be considered, but no decision was taken in this regard.

e) It is further pleaded by the applicant that under the prevailing practice and rules governing compassionate appointments, persons possessing higher educational qualifications are often appointed against higher posts. The applicant asserts that despite being qualified for the post of Teacher, she was appointed only as Lab Assistant.

f) The applicant further alleges that certain other persons, including the private respondents, who were similarly placed and who were also appointed on compassionate grounds under SRO-43 of 1994, were appointed as Teachers, whereas the applicant was appointed to a lower post of Lab Assistant. According to the applicant, this amounts to discrimination and unequal treatment.

g) The applicant claims that the action of the respondents in appointing her as Lab Assistant while appointing similarly situated persons as Teachers violates the guarantees of equality before law and equal opportunity in public employment under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.

h) It i