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The division bench of the Himachal High Court, comprising Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Chander Bhusan Barowalia passed the orders on a petition filed by Mamta Devi, who mentioned that her father, a Class-IV employee working in the office of district ayurvedic office, Kullu, died on duty, leaving behind two daughters and a wife. In the present case, the petitioner had applied for the job appointment on compassionate grounds as her mother and sister did not want to work, her application, though supported with requisite affidavits, was rejected as there was no provision in the policy for grant of job assistance to a married daughter of a deceased government employee.
Viewing the above, the court observed that the core purpose of compassionate appointment was not only social welfare but also to save a family from a financial vacuum created after the death of the employee. Adding to the above, the court remarked that, “if the marital status of a son did not make any difference in the eyes of law, then a daughter’s marital status also should’t makes such a difference in eligibility and she stands on the same footing as a son to not be excluded from such appointment without any valid basis or logic.”
Therefore, while giving its decision the court said that the petitioner could not be deprived of such an appointment merely on the ground that she is married, particularly when there is no male child in the family and she otherwise fulfils the criteria prescribed along with a no objection certificate from her mother and younger sister.