Supreme Court - Daily Orders
Union Of India vs Nayan Das on 26 August, 2019
Bench: L. Nageswara Rao, Hemant Gupta
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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL No.6628 of 2019
(Arising out of Special Leave Petition (C)No.756 of 2018)
UNION OF INDIA & ORS. Appellant(s)
VERSUS
NAYAN DAS Respondent(s)
O R D E R
Leave granted.
This appeal arises from the judgment of the High Court by which the respondent was directed to be appointed on compassionate grounds.
The respondent made a representation to appoint him on compassionate ground as his brother who was serving the Railways died in harness. The representation was rejected by the appellants.
The respondent challenged the order by which his representation was rejected, before the Tribunal. The Tribunal allowed the application on the ground that the Signature Not Verified deceased employee nominated his parents and siblings as Digitally signed by SARITA PUROHIT Date: 2019.08.28 15:51:15 IST Reason: dependents. It is relevant to note that the deceased employee had divorced his wife in 2013. He has a daughter who was aged nine years at the time when the 2 respondent made an application for compassionate appointment.
The Tribunal accepted the submission of the Respondent and directed him to be appointed on compassionate grounds. The High Court affirmed and upheld the judgment of the Tribunal on the ground that the minor daughter was only 10 years old and that she was living with her maternal grandparents. The High Court held that the immediate family, i.e., his parents and siblings were dependents on the deceased.
Ms.Madhavi Diwan, learned Additional Solicitor General relied upon the Circular dated 08.07.2014 which governs compassionate appointments. A perusal of the circular would show that the brother or sister of a deceased employee has a right to claim compassionate appointment only if the employee was unmarried. She submitted that relaxation up to 25 years is given for minor children making a claim for compassionate appointment, in case of the death of the dependent. She also referred to the claim of the daughter which was made on 04.11.2014.
Ms. Aditi Gupta, learned counsel appearing for the Respondent justified the order passed by the Tribunal directing appointment of the Respondent. She relied upon the judgment of this Court in Umesh Kumar Nagpal vs. State of Haryana (1994 SCC (4) 138) to submit that the 3 immediate need of the family has to be taken into account while granting compassionate appointment upon the death of an employee in harness. She submitted that the family of the Respondent which consists of the parents and the siblings of the deceased employee have no other source of livelihood and were entirely dependent on his brother. She also submitted that the daughter of the deceased employee is a minor who is under the care of the maternal grandparents.
A perusal of the scheme would indicate that the right of a sibling of a deceased employee would be only in case the employee is unmarried. A Divorcee cannot be treated as an unmarried government servant under the scheme. The daughter of the deceased employee has a legitimate right to be considered for compassionate appointment as and when she becomes eligible in accordance with the scheme. The brother of the deceased employee has not produced any material to show that he is entirely dependent on the deceased employee.
In view of the above circumstances, we are of the opinion that the direction issued by the Tribunal, as upheld by the High Court, is contrary to the scheme that governs compassionate appointment. Therefore, the judgment of the High Court is set aside. 4
The Civil Appeal is, accordingly, allowed. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.
....................J. (L. NAGESWARA RAO) ....................J. (HEMANT GUPTA) NEW DELHI;
26th August, 2019
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ITEM NO.56 COURT NO.10 SECTION XIV
S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s).756/2018
(Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 05-06-2017
in WP No. 4716/2016 passed by the Gauhati High Court) UNION OF INDIA & ORS. Petitioner(s) VERSUS NAYAN DAS Respondent(s) Date : 26-08-2019 This petition was called on for hearing today. CORAM :
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE L. NAGESWARA RAO HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HEMANT GUPTA For Petitioner(s) Ms. Madhavi Diwan,ASG Mr. Sachin Sharma,Adv.
Ms. Alka Agarwal,Adv.
Mr. Raj Bahadur,Adv.
Mrs. Anil Katiyar, AOR For Respondent(s) Ms. Aditi Gupta,Adv.
Mr. Ibad Mushtaq,Adv.
Mr. Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi, AOR UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following O R D E R Leave granted.
The appeal is allowed in terms of the signed order. Pending application(s), if any, stand disposed of.
(B.Parvathi) (Sunil Kumar Rajvanshi)
Court Master Court Master
(Signed order is placed on the file)