In, Ahmednagar Mahanagar Palika vs Ahmednagar Mahanagar Palika Kamgar Union, SC has held that Therefore, appointment on compassionate grounds cannot be extended to the heirs of the employees on their superannuation and/or retirement. If such an appointment is permitted, in that case, outsiders shall never get an appointment and only the heirs of the employees on their superannuation and/or retirement shall get an appointment and same is violative of Article 14 as well as Article 15 of the Constitution of India.
Facts
In this case, an Industrial Court directed the Ahmednagar Mahanagar Palika to give appointment to the heirs of the employees on their retirement and/or superannuation. The direction was based on a settlement award between the Employees Union and the Mahanagar Palika in which one of the demands by the Union was that legal heirs of the employees must be employed on retirement. The Gujarat High Court dismissed the writ petition filed by Mahanagar Palika challenging this order.
Contention Made
Appellant: the Mahanagar Palika/Municipal Corporation are governed by the rules and regulations/scheme framed by the State Government. Therefore, the employees of the Mahanagar Palika/Municipal Corporation shall be entitled to the benefit of the scheme of appointment on compassionate grounds at par with the government employees.
Further, in The Secretary to Govt. Department of Education (Primary) & Others v. Bheemesh alias Bheemappa, 2021 SCC OnLine SC 1264, it is submitted that the appointment on compassionate ground shall have to be made as per the modified scheme.
That direction to give appointment to the heirs of the employees on their retirement/superannuation shall be hit by Article 14 of the Constitution of India and against the object of providing appointment on compassionate grounds.
Respondent: In the present case the parties are governed by the terms of the Bipartite Agreement resulting in judgment and award. Therefore that there is no question of any discretion and the heirs of the employees are entitled to the appointment on compassionate grounds on the superannuation and/or retirement of the concerned employees. Reliance is placed on the decision of this Court in the case of Subhadra v. Ministry of Coal and another, (2018) 11 SCC 201.
Court Observation
The Division Bench of Supreme Court of India While dealing with the above contention observed that, After the conversion of the Municipal Council to Municipal Corporation/Mahanagar Palika, the employees of the Mahanagar Palika/Municipal Corporation shall be governed by the scheme framed by the State Government and at par with the government employees. As per the recent decision of this Court in the case of Bheemesh alias Bheemappa (supra), the appointment on compassionate ground shall be as per the modified scheme.
Further SC observed , Even otherwise, such an appointment to the heirs of the employees on their retirement and/or superannuation shall be contrary to the object and purpose of appointment on compassionate grounds and is hit by Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
Court Judgment
SC while allowing the present appeal has held that, both the Judgment and award passed by the Industrial Court as well as the High Court in directing the Mahanagar Palika/ Municipal Corporation to give appointment to the heirs of the employees on their superannuation and/or retirement is unsustainable and the same deserves to be quashed and set aside. Further the same amounts to Violation of Article 14 & 15 of Constitution of India.
Case: Ahmednagar Mahanagar Palika vs Ahmednagar Mahanagar Palika Kamgar Union
Citation: CIVIL APPEAL NO. 5944 OF 2022 (Arising from SLP(Civil) No.9933/2022)
Bench: Hon’ble Justice M.R. Shah & Justice B.V. Nagarathna
Decided on: 5th September, 2022.
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