Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Surajit Mondal vs The Chairman on 8 August, 2022
03.
08.08.2022
S.D.
W.P.A. 7032 of 2022
Surajit Mondal
Vs.
The Chairman, Paschim Banga Gramin Bank & Ors.
Mr. Amit Ranjan Roy
..For the Petitioner.
Mr. Baidurya Ghosal
Ms. Avipsha Dutta Roy
Ms. Aatreyee Dutta
..For the Respondent.
The report filed on behalf of the respondent no. 1 in terms
of the previous direction of this Court is taken on record.
The petitioner's father Balaram Mondal was a regular
employee of the Paschim Banga Gramin Bank (in short
"P.B.G.B.") died- in-harness on 7th September 2018. The petitioner
had made an application for compassionate appointment, which
has not been disposed of till date. The petitioner, therefor, has
approached this Court for a direction to grant compassionate
appointment.
The compassionate appointment is not a matter of right. It
is an exception curved out of the provision of Article 14 of the
Constitution of India to provide solace to a bereaved family to
tide over the crisis faced due to sudden loss of the sole bread
earner. The compassionate appointment, therefor, has to be in
terms of a Scheme if prevalent in the employer concerned. It is
also now settled that the Scheme for compassionate appointment
has to be prevalent on the date of death of the employee as held
by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the judgment reported in AIR
2022 SC 402 (The Secretary to Govt. Department of Education
(Primary) & Ors. Vs. Bheemesh Alias Bheemappa).
In the instant case, affidavits have been invited from
P.B.G.B. to ascertain whether there was any Scheme prevalent
from granting employment on compassionate ground as on 7th
September, 2018. Two Schemes have come forward as disclosed
by P.B.G.B. One Scheme appears to be that of payment of ex
gratia, which is dated 11/20-09-2007 and was to come into effect
from 26th February 2007. Although compassionate appointment
has been referred to the said Scheme but from Clause 3 thereof, it
appears that such Scheme for compassionate appointment is a
proposed Scheme. The Scheme, therefor, has to be a Scheme for
payment of ex gratia. From the second affidavit affirmed by
P.B.G.B., it appears that the Scheme for compassionate
appointment has been adopted and made operational in P.B.G.B.
with effect from 18th April, 2019, admittedly, this date is after the
death of the petitioner's father. It is, therefor, apparent that there
was no Scheme for compassionate appointment prevailing at the
time of death of the petitioner's father. Unless there was a
Scheme for compassionate appointment, the prayer for the same
cannot be either considered or be directed to consider.
The writ petition so far as it relates to compassionate
appointment therefor fails. At the same time the petitioner
cannot be left remidiless when as admitted by P.B.G.B. there was
a Scheme for payment of ex gratia. The dismissal of the writ
petition will, however, not prevent the family of the deceased
employee Balaram Mondal from claiming ex gratia as per the
Scheme said to be operational from 26th September 2007. The
petitioner shall make an application for ex gratia to P.B.G.B. by
26th August, 2022 either jointly with other family members or
severally. In the event, such an application is made, the
employer, P.B.G.B. shall without going into the delay in making
the application, consider the same and grant ex gratia to the
family of the deceased employee Balaram Mondal, if payable as
per the prevalent Scheme at the time of his death within a period
of three months from the date of making such application.
The writ petition is accordingly disposed of.
The parties shall act on the basis of a server copy of this
order without insisting upon production of a Certified Copy
thereof.
(Arindam Mukherjee, J.)
