IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED: 07.12.2023 CORAM:

THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE M.S. RAMESH W.P.No.32991 of 2023 R.Divya ...Petitioner Vs

1.The Chief Engineer (Appointing Authority), Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, No.144, Anna Salai, Chennai 600 002.

2. The Superintending Engineer, Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (Central), Chennai 600 034 ..Respondents PRAYER: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the respondents to consider the petitioner's representation dated 06.10.2023 and provide employment to the petitioner on compassionate grounds.

For Petitioner : Mr.T.N.Rajagopalan For Respondents : Mr.David Sundar Singh Standing counsel for R1 and R2

ORDER

The petitioner is the daughter of one S.Ramesh and while he was serving as a Field Assistant under the TANGEDCO, had died in an accident on 26.09.2015. The petitioner's mother R.Amudha had made an application on 10.05.2018, seeking for compassionate appointment for her daughter / the petitioner herein, which application was within a period of three years from the date of death of the employee. Thereafter, the petitioner had also made an application seeking for compassionate appointment for herself on 19.12.2019. The petitioner became a major on 11.11.2022 only. In this background, the petitioner's mothers' application seeking for compassionate appointment was initially rejected on 02.07.2018 on the ground that at the time of application, the petitioner was a minor. In the light of these developments, the present writ petition has been filed seeking for mandamus to consider the petitioner representation dated 06.10.2023 seeking for compassionate appointment.

2. The Government in GO Ms.No.18, Labour and Employment (Q1) Department dated 23.01.2020, had issued a comprehensive guidelines for appointment on compassionate grounds. This Government order was adopted by TANGEDCO in FB TANGEDCO Proceedings No.11 dated 11.06.2020 and among those guidelines, one of the condition is that the legal heirs seeking for compassionate appointment should have crossed 18 years of age. However, the Government had thereafter framed the Tamil Nadu Civil Services Appointment on Compassionate Grounds Rules 2023 and in modification of GO Ms.No.18 dated 23.01.2020, had relaxed the minimum age for a legal heir to seek for compassionate appointment. Rule 6 of the aforesaid rules reads as follows :- 6. Age Limit – (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules governing the post for which appointment on compassionate grounds is to be made.

(a) the spouse of the deceased or medically invalidated Government Servant or the parent of the deceased Government Servant, must not have completed fifty years of age; and (b) the son, daughter, brother or sister of the deceased or medically invalidated Government Servant must not have completed forty years of age.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules governing the post for which appointment on compassionate grounds is to be made, there shall be no minimum age limit for the applicant on the date of application for appointment:

Provided that appointment shall not be provided unless the applicant completes 18 years of age.

3. The scheme of compassionate appointment, whenever introduced by the Government, has been successively adopted by TANGEDCO, till the last GO MS No.18 dated 23.01.2020. This apart, this Court on several occasions have held that whenever an application by spouse of the deceased employee is made within a period of three years, while the son or daughter of the late employee is a minor, the subsequent application by the son or daughter, within three years from the date of which he or she become attains major, can be sustainable. One such decision of this Court in the case of [S.Nagarajan Vs. The Superintending Engineer, Tamilnadu Electricity Distribution Circle, Tirunelveli - 627 002] in WP No. No.15658 of 2012 dated 04.04.2014, the learned Single Judge of this Court place