Family member already in job, so no job on compassionate ground for another one

It is trite law that appointment on compassionate basis cannot be claimed as a matter of right

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: When a member of a family is already employed, a job on compassionate ground for another member cannot be considered, the HC has said. The division bench of Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice S Vishwajith Shetty upheld the order of a single judge bench.

The bench was hearing an appeal filed in the year 2014 by one Ranganath from Bengaluru. Ranganath challenged the order of a single judge bench, which had dismissed his petition on July 8, 2014. Ranganath’s father N Ramaiah, who was working in the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited, went missing on October 7, 2002.

His mother filed an application before the KPTCL seeking appointment on compassionate grounds, which was rejected in 2010. Ranganath then obtained a decree from the civil court that his father was dead. Based on the declaration, a death certificate was obtained from the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike in 2011. He approached the HC seeking a direction for appointment on compassionate grounds.

In 2012, the HC directed the KPTCL to consider his case as per law. However in 2013, the KPTCL rejected his claim. He challenged it before a single judge bench, which dismissed it in 2014. He then filed an appeal and the judgment on it was delivered on January 9, 2023.

Rejecting the appeal, the division bench said, “It is trite law that appointment on compassionate basis cannot be claimed as a matter of right. The learned Single Judge on perusal of the record has found that a member of the family, ie brother of the appellant is already in service. The learned Single Judge has therefore held that the appellant is not entitled to seek appointment on a compassionate basis. We do not find any ground to interfere with the order passed by the learned Single Judge.”