Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 12: In a landmark judgment, High Court today held that compassionate appointment cannot be denied on the ground that deceased had not been regularized by the time of his death.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Janak Raj Kotwal in a case wherein petitioner’s husband was engaged as daily wager on April 1, 1993 and regularized on December 30, 2004 in terms of SRO-64 of 1994. He, however, had expired prior to his regularization on March 30, 2001.
The petitioner applied for compassionate appointment in terms of SRO 43 of 1994. The Chief Engineer, Electric Maintenance and RE Jammu vide communication dated 26.04.2005 recommended her case to the Government. The appointment, however, was not provided to her on the ground that benefit under SRO 43 is not available to the petitioner for the reason that the deceased had died prior to his regularization and he was not a regular Government servant at the time of his death.
After hearing Advocate S K Anand appearing for the petitioner Veena Devi, Justice Janak Raj Kotwal observed, “the plea taken by the respondents would not have been available to them had the deceased been regularized in his life time after he attained entitlement to regularization under SRO 64 of 1994 on completion of seven years’ period as daily wager in the year 2000″, adding “there is no justification in refusing compassionate appointment in a case where right to regularization had accrued to the deceased Government servant prior to his death, particularly so when such regularization has been ordered posthumously”.
“The petitioner, who claims to be the wife of the deceased, cannot be denied compassionate appointment under SRO 43 of 1994 on the ground that her deceased husband had not been regularized by the time of his death”, Justice Kotwal said and directed respondents to finalize the case of the petitioner for her compassionate appointment and issue order without any further delay subject to fulfillment of other eligibility criteria under SRO 43 of 1994.
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