Frame SOP to deal with compassionate appointment process, HC tells Karnataka govt

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has directed the state government to formulate a uniform Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in order to bring clarity, transparency and procedural fairness in the compassionate appointment process.

A division bench comprising Justices Mohammad Nawaz and KS Hemalekha issued guidelines observing that the compassionate appointment matters being a welfare measure designed to provide immediate financial relief to bereaved families, the state bears a high duty of procedural fairness.

“When a timely application is made, especially by an illiterate or a widow, the authorities must act strictly, transparently. Failure to do so, can deny rightful dependents their opportunity (sic),” the court said.

The bench said that all the applications must be decided within a maximum period of 90 days from the date of receipt of the application. If the application is found not maintainable, a reasoned order must be communicated to the applicant immediately.

The court said that any application, whether in prescribed format or not, must be acknowledged in writing by the authority within 30 days along with clear communication about the status of the application, any defects in format/documentation, the rights of other dependents to apply and the applicable limitation period.

“In cases where the applicant is widow, illiterate or otherwise, concerned Departments must take proactive steps to assist them in filing the application in proper format and guide them regarding the steps to be followed by the other dependents to apply.. A uniform Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and training of officials handling compassionate appointments should be made by the Government to ensure no procedural lapses,” the court said.

State’s petition dismissed

In the case at hand, the state government had challenged the order of the Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal (KSAT) in respect to the claim by Mahaboob Patel. His father Raja Patel Banda, who was a peon at the Tahasildar office in Jewargi, died on December 16, 2014. Raja Patel’s widow filed an application on January 2, 2015, seeking pension and also requesting appointment of one of her sons on compassionate appointment.

When there was no response, her elder son filed an application on October 5, 2015 which was rejected due to age limitations. Finally, the second son Mahaboob Patel filed an application on February 23, 2017, referring to his mother's 2015 application.

This time, Rule 5 of the Karnataka Civil Services (Appointment on Compassionate Grounds) Rules, 1996, was cited and the application was rejected as time-barred. The rule stipulated that an application has to be submitted within one year of the death of the government employee.

The division bench noted that the initial application by the widow was within the one-year limit, clearly expressing her circumstances and nominating her sons.

The court further said that delays in subsequent applications should not disadvantage dependents when initial timely applications were made, even if informal. The bench dismissed the state's petition while directing the government to appoint Mahaboob Patel as per KSAT's 2017 order, within eight weeks.