The Division Bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justice MR Shah and Krishna Murari held that a Job appointment on compassionate grounds cannot be claimed as a matter of right. The ruling of the Supreme Court has come while deciding the case of a daughter’s plea to be appointed 14 years after the death of her father in 1995.

The respondent's father was employed in Kerala-based Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd. With more than 27 years having elapsed since the death, the court was adjudicating a petition filed by the petitioner company challenging a decision of the Kerala High court rendered on March 31 this year, directing them to consider the daughter’s plea for compassionate employment.

The Supreme Court ruled that "Compassionate appointment is an exception to the general rule of appointment in public services and such a concession is made to ensure that the dependants of a person dying in harness are not left in penury or without any means of livelihood."

When the father of the woman died in 1995, she was a minor, and after she became a major, got married and claimed the appointment on compassionate grounds after 14 years. 

A single bench of the Kerala High Court on January 22, 2021, directed the company to consider the daughter’s plea. When the company challenged this order before the division bench, it reiterated the order of the single-judge bench, forcing the company to seek redress before the top court.

The Supreme Court termed the order of the High Court “unsustainable”, and said, “If such an appointment is made now and/or after a period of 14/over 24 years, the same shall be against the object and purpose for which the appointment on compassionate grounds is provided.” The bench further added that “The appointment on compassionate grounds is a concession and not a right.”

Case Details:-

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 6958 OF 2022
Fertilizers and Chemicals
Travancore Ltd. & Ors. …Appellant(s)
Versus
Anusree K.B. …Respondent(s)

Read the complete judgment on the link below:-

https://main.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2022/20296/20296_2022_7_1507_38707_Judgement_30-Sep-2022.pdf