Kuldeep Singh v. Nagar Nigam Haridwar others

Mr. Harpal Singh served as Assist ant Teacher in Panna Lal Bhalla Municipal I nt er College, Haridwar, which is a Governm ent Aided I nst it ut ion and is m anaged by Municipal Corporat ion, Haridwar. While in em ploym ent , pet it ioner’s fat her passed away on 07.12.2021, t herefore, his m ot her m ade request for giv ing com passionat e appoint m ent t o pet it ioner. I n t he applicat ion m ade on

30.03.2022, appoint m ent was sought on t he post of Assist ant Teacher, L.T. Grade. The request com passionat e appoint m ent was t urned down by Chief Educat ion Officer on t he ground t hat as per t he Dying in Harness Rules, 1974 applicable t o Governm ent em ployees, com passionat e appoint m ent can be given only on a Group- D post or Group- C post of Junior Assist ant and not as t eacher. Thus, feeling aggrieved, pet it ioner has approached t his Court .

4. Adm it t edly, pet it ioner’s fat her was serving in a Governm ent Aided I nst it ut ion and it s em ployees, bot h t eaching and non- t eaching, do not have t he st at us of Governm ent em ployee, t herefore, Dying in Harness Rules, 1974 which are applicable only t o Governm ent em ployees are not at t ract ed. The service condit ions of t eaching and non- t eaching em ployees of Governm ent Aided Schools are governed by Ut t arakhand School Educat ion Act and t he Regulat ions fram ed t hereunder.

5. Law is well set t led t hat com passionat e appoint m ent is given t o a dependent fam ily m em ber of deceased em ployee t o provide financial relief t o t he fam ily facing dest it ut ion on account of deat h of t he breadwinner. The is on easing t he fam ily’s im m ediat e hardship and not on providing a career t o t he 2 applicant . I t serves as a m easure t o help t he fam ily t o get over an em ergency and t ide over t he financial crisis. Offering com passionat e appoint m ent is not a m at t er of course, but depends on t he fam ily’s financial condit ion, upon deat h of an em ployee. The purpose of appoint m ent is t o help t he fam ily t o wade t hrough an econom ic calam it y and not t o cat er t o applicant ’s dignit y or st at us. I f t he applicant finds t he post beneat h his dignit y, he is free not t o accept it .

6. From t he j udgm ent s rendered by Hon’ble Suprem e Court on t he issue of com passionat e appoint m ent , t he following principles em erge; ( a) appoint m ent on com passionat e grounds is an except ion t o t he general rule t hat recruit m ent t o public service is t o be m ade in a t ransparent and account able m anner by providing opport unit y t o all eligible persons t o com pet e and part icipat e in t he select ion process; ( b) t he right of a dependent of an em ployee, who died in harness for com passionat e appoint m ent is based on t he schem e, execut ive inst ruct ions, rules et c. fram ed by t he em ployer and t here is no right t o claim com passionat e appoint m ent on any ot her ground dehors t he schem e/ rules fram ed by t he em ployer; ( c) appoint m ent on com passionat e ground is an except ion t o t he general rule; ( d) no aspirant has a vest ed right t o com passionat e appoint m ent t o a part icular post , com m ensurat e wit h qualificat ion; ( e) appoint m ent t o any public post in t he service of t he St at e has t o be m ade t hrough an open select ion by providing equalit y of opport unit y t o all eligible candidat es; and ( f) appoint m ent on com passionat e ground can be m ade only by following t he norm s laid down by St at e Policy and/ or sat isfact ion of t he eligibilit y crit eria as per t he policy. 3

7. Pet it ioner has st aked claim for appoint m ent as Assist ant Teacher, L.T. Grade, who t eaches st udent s upt o 10 t h st andard. Teachers play a crucial role in educat ion as t hey influence and shape t he m inds of fut ure generat ions, im part knowledge and skills t o t heir st udent s and creat e a support ive learning environm ent t o fost er int ellect ual growt h and developm ent . Thus t hey shape t he fut ure of a nat ion. Appoint ing t eachers wit hout select ion com prom ises t he qualit y of educat ion, violat ing t he fundam ent al right under Art icle 21A of t he I ndian Const it ut ion. As discussed earlier, com passionat e appoint m ent is m eant t o provide im m ediat e financial relief, not perm anent social st at us. A t ransparent and com pet it ive recruit m ent of t eachers ensures t hat only t he best candidat es are appoint ed for educat ing t he children. Com passionat e appoint m ent bypasses t he select ion process and denies t he ent ry of deserving t alent . Right t o educat ion which is a fundam ent al right , ent it les t he children t o qualit y educat ion and t eachers, if appoint ed on considerat ions ot her t han m erit , would defeat t he right of children t o get qualit y educat ion. St andard of educat ion cannot be com prom ised t he sake of providing em ploym ent t o dependent fam ily m em ber of a deceased em ployee.

8. I n t he case of Tinku v. St at e of Haryana and ot hers, report ed in 2024 SCC OnLine SC 3292, Hon’ble Suprem e Court while dealing wit h a com passionat e appoint m ent held as under: - “ 1 2 . As regards t he com passionat e appoint m ent being sought t o be claim ed as a vest ed right for appoint m ent , suffice it t o say t hat t he said right is not a condit ion of service of an em ployee who dies in harness, which m ust be given t o t he dependent wit hout any kind of scrut iny or undert aking a process of select ion. I t is an appoint m ent which is 4 leaving fam ily out of a sudden pecuniary given on proper and st rict scrut iny of t he various param et ers as laid down wit h an int ent ion t o help a financial dest it ut ion t o help it get out of t he em erging urgent sit uat ion where t he sole bread earner has t hem helpless and m aybe expired, penniless. is, t herefore, provided t o bail out a fam ily of t he deceased em ployee financial difficult y and but for t he em ploym ent , t he fam ily will not be able t o m eet t he crisis. This shall in any fulfilling case be subj ect t he requirem ent s as t he policy, laid down inst ruct ions, or rules for such a com passionat e appoint m ent . t he claim ant facing ext rem e Com passionat e appoint m ent t o 1 3 . I t m ust be clearly st at ed here t hat in a case inst ruct ion, or rule providing for an appoint m ent on com passionat e grounds, such an appoint m ent cannot be grant ed. is no policy, t here 1 4 . The very basis and t he rat ionale, wherever such policies are for com passionat e fram ed appoint m ent is w it h an obj ect t o grant relief t o a fam ily in dist ress and facing dest it ut ion, and t hus an except ion is culled out t o t he general rule in favour of t he fam ily of t he deceased em ployee. This is resort ed t o by t aking int o considerat ion t he t he services rendered by such em ployee and consequent legal expect at ions apart from t he sudden change in st at us and affairs of t he fam ily because of t he unexpect ed t urn of event s, i.e. t he loss of t he sole bread earner.” legit im at e

9. Pet it ioner claim ed appoint m ent Assist ant Teacher, L.T. Grade. The post of t eacher cannot be com pared wit h ot her Group- C m inist erial post s, as a t eacher needs t o be equipped wit h necessary skill so t hat he can groom t he st udent s int o wort hy cit izen. Alt hough, a dependent fam ily m em ber of a deceased em ployee of an educat ional inst it ut ion m ay have t he right t o be considered for com passionat e appoint m ent , however, t hat right would be subservient t o t he right of children t o get qualit y educat ion. Fut ure of t he nat ion depends on t he children and qualit y of inst ruct ions im part ed t o st udent s cannot be com prom ised by appoint ing t eachers on considerat ions ot her t han m erit . The st at us of 5 t eachers cannot be belit t led by com paring t hem wit h ot her Group- C em ployees.

10. Even t hough, t he reason assigned for rej ect ing pet it ioner’s claim for appoint m ent as t eacher m ay not be valid, however, t he decision not t o appoint t he pet it ioner as t eacher cannot be fault ed.

11. For t he aforesaid reasons, t his Court is not inclined t o direct t he Com pet ent Aut horit y t o offer t he post of Assist ant t eacher t o t he pet it ioner.

12. Having regard t o t he fact s and reasons, as m ent ioned above, t he writ pet it ion is disposed of by perm it t ing pet it ioner t o m ake fresh applicat ion com passionat e appoint m ent on a non- t eaching post . I f he m akes such applicat ion wit hin t wo weeks from t oday, t he Manager shall forward his applicat ion t o t he Chief Educat ion Officer for approval w it hin t en days t hereaft er. The Chief Educat ion Officer shall exam ine pet it ioner’s claim and t ake decision as per law wit hin six weeks t hereaft er. Dt : 09.09.2025 Navin NAVEEN CHANDRA DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=3be23325146e76a0642bdf4943fb9046f487df0 06da82a131bb4e4403d3c0a15, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=18167EEFB5CA8CFFD421A103819DA87 5643AF56D653D095C6ED9A86DAAB21CE5, cn=NAVEEN CHANDRA ( M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i , J.) 6