The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a deceased government employee's daughter who got divorced after the death of the staff would not be entitled to a compassionate appointment.
A bench of Justices M R Shah and Aniruddha Bose allowed an appeal filed by the Director of Treasuries in Karnataka against the High Court's direction to the state government to grant compassionate appointment to V Somyashree, whose mother P Bhagyamma, employed as second division assistant at Mandya District Treasury, died on March 25, 2012.
While going through the Karnataka Civil Services (Appointment on Compassionate Grounds) Rules 1996, the top court noted that there is no provision for a compassionate appointment for a divorced daughter as per norms prevailing at that time.
Only ‘unmarried daughter’ and ‘widowed daughter’, dependent upon the deceased female government servant at the time of her death and living with her can be said to be eligible for appointment on compassionate ground, it pointed out.
The word ‘divorced daughter’ was added subsequently to the rules by an amendment in 2021.
In the instant case, the court noted when the employee died on March 25, 2012, Somyashree was her married daughter and her marriage was subsisting.
However, after her mother's death, she obtained divorce by mutual consent on September 12, 2012. A Mandya court granted the decree of divorce by its judgment on March 20, 2013.
Immediately on the very next day, i.e. on March 21, 2013, she applied for an appointment on compassionate ground, which suggested that she got the divorce only to get an appointment on compassionate ground. Otherwise, as a married daughter, she was not entitled to the appointment, the court pointed out.
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(Published 13 September 2021, 14:48 IST)
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