Court No. - 34
Case :- WRIT - A No. - 26305 of 2015 Petitioner :- Seema Rajput Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 4 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Vijay Gautam Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
Hon'ble Yashwant Varma,J.
Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri Anil Kumar Singh learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel for the State respondents.
This petition has been preferred for the respondents being commanded to consider the claim of the petitioner for appointment under the Dying in Harness Rules 1974. The claim itself is addressed in the backdrop of the father of the petitioner having died while serving under the respondents on 19 January 2013. Although the petitioner asserts having made an application for consideration of her claim on 20 March 2014, the same was not processed by the respondents constraining the petitioner to approach this Court. The writ petition was pressed with learned counsel contending that it is the apprehension of the petitioner that her claim is perhaps not being considered since she was the married daughter of the deceased government servant.
However, the Court notes that no such plea or objection is taken by the respondents in the counter affidavit which was filed. In any case the issue of the right of a married daughter to claim appointment on compassionate grounds is no longer res integra and stands duly settled in light of the judgment of the Court rendered in Smt. Vimla Srivastava v. State of U.P. and Another [2016(1) ADJ 21]. Following the aforesaid decision another Division Bench in Neha Srivastava v. State of U.P. And Another [Special Appeal Defective No. 863 of 2015 decided on 23.12.2015] also recognised the right of a married daughter to apply for compassionate appointment following the word "unmarried" as contained in Rule 2(c) of the 1974 Rules having been struck down as invalid and unconstitutional in Smt. Vimla Srivastava. The Special Leave Petition which was taken by the respondents against the judgment rendered in Neha Srivastava has also come to be dismissed on 23 July 2019.
By means of a supplementary affidavit filed today the petitioner contends that she was staying alongwith her unemployed husband with the deceased government servant at the time of his death. It is further disclosed in that affidavit that the husband of the petitioner is presently working as a daily wage employee in a private firm at Bilaspur Chhattisgarh.
In view of the aforesaid, learned Standing Counsel submitted that subject to all facts being kept open for due verification and contention on merits being kept open, the claim of the petitioner for being accorded compassionate appointment shall be duly examined and evaluated in accordance with law and a final decision communicated with expedition and preferably within a period of four months from the date of presentation of a duly authenticated copy of this order.
Accordingly, this petition shall stand disposed of in light of the statement noted and recorded above. All contentions of respective parties on merits including the enquiry on the question of whether the petitioner was in fact dependent upon the deceased government servant as well as the exigencies of being offered compassionate appointment are kept open.
Order Date :- 24.8.2021 faraz