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MP High Court: departments must guide families on compassionate appointment
MP High Court: departments must guide families on compassionate appointment
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed government departments to advise bereaved families on how eligible dependents can apply for compassionate appointment, rather than rejecting applications on technical grounds. A division bench…
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed government departments to advise bereaved families on how eligible dependents can apply for compassionate appointment, rather than rejecting applications on technical grounds. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pavan Kumar Dwivedi held that the competent authority must show compassion and sensitivity, observing that families often receive wrong advice on the policy. The court said substitution of one dependent for another is permissible and does not constitute a fresh application, as the family seeks only one appointment.
The order came on an appeal by Divya Kushwah, whose application for compassionate appointment with MP Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitran Company Ltd was rejected as time-barred. Her father died in February 2015, her brother first applied within six months but could not pursue the claim as he lacked an ITI diploma. Kushwah applied in October 2021, but the company rejected it under the 2018 policy's six-month limitation. The single judge dismissed her petition.
The high court quashed the rejection, remanding the matter to the company for fresh consideration within 30 days. It held that since the family had raised a claim within the prescribed period through the brother, Kushwah's application as a substituted dependent could not be treated as entirely fresh. The appeal was allowed.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has reinforced that compassionate appointment schemes, intended to provide immediate financial relief to families of government employees who die in service, should not be defeated by rigid time limits when the family has already staked a claim within the prescribed period. The principle established here, that substitution of one dependent for another does not create a fresh application, fills a gap left by many state and central government policies, which typically allow only one appointment per family but are silent on how to handle a change of applicant. This ruling effectively creates a procedural safety net for families who initially nominate a member who later proves ineligible, as happened when the appellant's brother lacked an ITI diploma.
Source: livelaw.in
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
