Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Sunny Hari vs The State Of West Bengal & Others on 25 August, 2023
25.08.2023
Item No.04.
Court No.6.
KOLE
F.M.A. 584 of 2022
With
IA CAN 2 of 2021
Sunny Hari
Vs
The State of West Bengal & Others
Mr. Debnath Mahata,
....for the Appellant.
A judgment and order dated July 11, 2018,
whereby several writ petitions including that of the
present appellant were dismissed by a learned Single
Judge, is under challenge in the present appeal.
The appellant approached the learned Single
Judge for a direction on the Kamarhati Municipality to
appoint him on compassionate basis on the ground
that the sole bread-earner of the family had died in
harness.
The learned Judge dismissed the writ petition on
the ground that there was no scheme for
compassionate appointment.
Hence, this appeal.
In another case i.e., Debabrata Tiwari, this
very issue, i.e., whether the next of kin of an employee
of a Municipality, who dies in harness, is entitled to
compassionate appointment, was carried to the
Hon'ble Supreme Court of India. By a judgment and
order dated March 3, 2023, passed in Civil Appeal No.
8842-8855 of 2022, the Hon'ble Apex Court allowed
the appeal of the State of West Bengal against the
Division Bench order. The Division Bench order had
reversed the learned Single Judge's order, which had
held that unless there is a scheme, compassionate
appointment cannot be granted to the next of kin of an
employee of a Municipality, who dies in harness. The
Division Bench had allowed the prayer for
compassionate appointment. The Hon'ble Apex Court
reversed the order of the Division Bench and restored
the order of the learned Single Judge. The relevant
portion of the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court
reads as follows:
"We are further of the view that the liberty granted
to the local authorities in Circular No.142-Emp. to
formulate their own scheme for compassionate
appointment, is an acknowledgment of the fact that there
was no policy existing to govern compassionate
appointment to posts under local authorities.
16.5. In fine, the present appeals succeed on two
counts: first, there was no policy existing to govern
compassionate appointment to posts under local
authorities in the State of West Bengal and hence, in the
absence of such a policy, compassionate appointment
cannot be granted; second, assuming that there was
such a policy, it would be of no redeeming purpose to
direct that the applications for appointment on
compassionate grounds be considered and decided
several years after they were filed.
17. In light of the aforesaid discussion, the instant
appeals succeed in the following terms:
i. The impugned judgment and common order of the
High Court of Calcutta dated 30th September, 2019 is
hereby set aside. The order of the learned Single Judge
of the High Court of Calcutta dated 05th July, 2018,
passed in W. P. No.2739 (W) of 2016 and connected
matters is restored. "
In the present case, admittedly, there is no
scheme for compassionate appointment insofar as the
Kamarhati Municipality or the State Government is
concerned.
In that view of the matter and in the light of the
aforesaid judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, we
are unable to grant any relief to the appellant.
If in future, any scheme for compassionate
appointment is framed by the competent authority,
the appellant may renew his prayer for compassionate
appointment.
FMA No. 584 of 2022 stands disposed of along
with CAN 2 of 2021.
Urgent Photostat Certified copy of this order, if
applied for, be supplied expeditiously after complying
with all necessary legal formalities.
(Arijit Banerjee, J.)
(Rai Chattopadhyay, J.)
