Allahabad High Court: Married Daughters Cannot Be Denied Compassionate Appointment; District Education Officer Directed to Reconsider Claim
By Rajesh Pandey
In a landmark ruling upholding equality and fairness in compassionate appointments, the Allahabad High Court has declared that a married daughter cannot be denied the benefit of a compassionate appointment solely based on her marital status.
The division bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra delivered this crucial judgment on August 12, setting aside a single judge’s earlier decision and directing the District Basic Education Officer (DBEO) of Deoria to review the petitioner’s claim afresh within eight weeks.
The case arose after Chanda Devi (the appellant) challenged the rejection of her claim for compassionate appointment following the death of her father, Sampurnanand Pandey, who had served as an assistant teacher at Purva Madhyamic Vidyalaya, Gajhadwa, in Deoria district.
Her application had been dismissed by the DBEO on December 27, 2016, solely because she was married.
The single judge of the High Court had acknowledged that, as per precedent, a married daughter cannot be excluded from such benefits.
However, the writ petition was dismissed on two grounds: first, that the petitioner had not demonstrated her dependency on her deceased father, and second, that nearly 11 years had elapsed since his death, making her claim “too delayed” for consideration.
Chanda Devi appealed this decision, arguing that these were not valid reasons for rejecting her application as the DBEO had not originally cited them.
The division bench agreed, observing that the rejection was based entirely on her marital status, which was not sustainable under the law.
Referring to the 2015 precedent in Smt. Vimla Srivastava vs. State of U.P. and Others, the bench reaffirmed that marital status cannot be a valid ground to deny a compassionate appointment.
The court clarified that the appellant should not be “non-suited” merely because she is married, and ordered the DBEO to examine all relevant facts objectively and issue a fresh decision within eight weeks.
This judgment reinforces the principle of equality in government employment benefits, highlighting that compassionate appointments are meant to provide immediate relief to a deceased employee’s family and should not discriminate based on gender or marital status.
Key Takeaways
- The Allahabad High Court ruled that marital status is not a valid ground for rejecting compassionate appointment claims.
- The earlier rejection of Chanda Devi’s claim was quashed, and the matter has been remitted to the District Basic Education Officer for reconsideration.
- The decision relies on the 2015 landmark judgment in Vimla Srivastava vs. State of U.P., which established that married daughters are equally eligible for compassionate appointments.
- The ruling strengthens gender equality and fairness in welfare provisions for families of deceased government employees.
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