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10. It was also submitted that if the employee has committed misconduct for which he was punished, the dependent of such employee cannot claim the benefit of appointment on compassionate ground. According to the counsel, both the Courts were wholly wrong in holding that the writ petitioner was sought to be punished for so called misdeeds of the deceased employee. The counsel submitted that there was no question of punishing the writ petitioner in not granting appointment on compassionate ground. The husband of the writ petitioner had committed misconduct which was proved in the inquiry instituted against him and he was punished. As per the policy, the writ petitioner cannot claim appointment on compassionate ground. There was no accrued right in favour of the writ-petitioner. The order passed by the learned Single Judge and confirmed by the Division Bench, therefore, deserves to be set aside.

11. Alternatively, it was submitted that even if a dependent of the deceased employee is held eligible to get an appointment on compassionate ground, it is well settled law that mandamus can be issued against the employer limited to ordering him to consider the case of such applicant. No direction can be issued to appoint the writ-petitioner on compassionate ground. Even on that count, the orders are liable to be set aside.

29. We are of the view that both the Courts were wrong in granting relief to the writ petitioner. Appointment on compassionate ground is never considered a right of a person. In fact, such appointment is violative of rule of equality enshrined and guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution. As per settled law, when any appointment is to be made in Government or semi-Government or in public office, cases of all eligible candidates must be considered alike. That is the mandate of Article 14. Normally, therefore, State or its instrumentality making any appointment to public office, cannot ignore such mandate. At the same time, however, in certain circumstances, appointment on compassionate ground of dependents of deceased employee is considered inevitable so that the family of the deceased employee may not starve. The primary object of such scheme is to save the bereaved family from sudden financial crisis occurring due to death of sole bread earner. It is thus an exception to the general rule of equality and not another independent and parallel source of employment.

35. In our opinion, the above observations lay down correct proposition of law and we approve them.

36. To us, therefore, the State Bank was right in refusing appointment on compassionate ground to the widow of deceased employee of the Bank even under the policy in force in year 2000. We see no illegality in the action. We hold that the learned Single Judge as well as the Division Bench were not right in observing that since the deceased employee was punished, the matter ended there and the said punishment would be of no consequence so far as appointment of his dependent on compassionate ground of the deceased employee was concerned.