Compassionate appointment an exception to general process of recruitment Allahabad HC

Prayagraj, Jan 21 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has held that compassionate appointment is an exception to the general process of recruitment and undue reliance cannot be placed on the recruitment rules to defeat the object of compassionate appointment.
    With this observation, the court directed the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) to decide the plea of a candidate seeking compassionate appointment afresh within a period of one month according to law.
    A bench of justices Saumitra Dayal Singh and Indrajeet Shukla also directed the university to consider the claim of the respondent candidate without applying the age limit prescribed in the recruitment rules but according to the discretion of relaxation provided in the compassionate appointment rules.
    According to the facts of the case, the respondent's sister died while working in BHU. The respondent approached the court against rejection of her application for grant of compassionate appointment.
    The bench allowed the plea and directed the university to reconsider petitioner's application without treating it as time barred and without applying the recruitment rules.
    The university filed the present intra-court appeal on grounds that the rules pertaining to compassionate appointment in the University include the applicability of the recruitment rules and in the recruitment rules the age prescribed is 18 to 33 years inclusive of 3 year relaxation of OBC (which the petitioner belonged to).
    It was pleaded that petitioner was 37 years old at the time of her sister's death which was beyond the maximum permissible relaxation.
    The court observed that though the compassionate appointment rules provided for age relaxation beyond the prescription "wherever found to be necessary", the recruitment rules provide hard limits for relaxation of age.
    The court in its order dated January 16 observed, "While seeking appointment by competing at a public examination the recruitment rules apply providing for a different principle to provide equal opportunity to all citizens, the compassionate rules and such provisions wherever they exist, aim to address the sudden financial hardships that arise owing to the loss of sole breadwinner of a family."

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)