Gujarat High Court
Sundarben Kanubhai Dodiya Wd/O Decd. ... vs State Of Gujarat on 11 January, 2024
Author: N.V.Anjaria
Bench: N.V.Anjaria
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/LPA/1464/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/01/2024
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1464 of 2023
In R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 9960 of 2023
With
CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR STAY) NO. 1 of 2023
In R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1464 of 2023
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SUNDARBEN KANUBHAI DODIYA WD/O DECD. KANUBHAI
CHHAGANBHAI DODIYA
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT
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Appearance:
MR RAJESH P MANKAD(2637) for the Appellant(s) No. 1
for the Respondent(s) No. 2,3,4
MR. SANJAY UDHWANI, ASSISTANT GOVERNMENT PLEADER/PP for the
Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE N.V.ANJARIA
and
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE CHEEKATI
MANAVENDRANATH ROY
Date : 11/01/2024
ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE N.V.ANJARIA)
Heard learned advocate Mr. Rajesh Mankad for the appellant and
learned Assistant Government Pleader Mr. Sanjay Udhwani for
respondent-State.
2. The prayer of the appellant-the original petitioner in his writ
petition to grant the amount of lumpsum compensation in lieu of
compassionate appointment, came to be negatived by learned single judge
as per impugned judgment and order dated 19.6.2023. As regards, the
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C/LPA/1464/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/01/2024
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second limb of prayer of release of amount of 300 days' leave
encashsment in the account of the petitioner's husband, did not survive as
the amount was paid. It left the court to consider the claim of payment of
lumpsum compensation on compassionate basis, which is available as per
the scheme of the State Government in Resolution dated 5.7.2011.
3. Noticing the basic facts, the the husband-daily wager labourer of
the petitioner joined the services on 1.3.1984 with respondent. The
benefit under Resolution dated 17.10.1988 came to be extended to the
petitioner upon completion of requisite number of continuous service. He
was put in the regular pay scale under the said resolution.
4. The husband of the petitioner died while in service on 29.8.2017.
The request of the petitioner-wife to get the lumpsum compensation in
lieu of relief of compassionate appointment and for other benefits as
above was negatived by the impugned order dated 23.1.2023. Learned
single Judge was of the view that the grievance was raised by filling
petition after period of 6 years, which was a time period too long to be
countenanced for the purpose of considering of the case of the petitioner
on compassionate basis.
5. The principles regarding grant of relief of compassionate
appointment / grant of lump compensation in lieu of compassionate
appointment were highlighted by learned single Judge quoting from
Rajeshkumar Vishnuprasad Joshi vs. State of Gujarat [2023 (2) GLR
996], in which it was observed by the court in para 6.3 and 6.5 as under,
"6.3 It is also trite principle that the policy of compassionate
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appointment is intended to give immediate relief to the family of the
deceased upon death of the deceased. It is a one-time succor when the
family lunges into economic crises upon death of bread earner. While on
one hand the compassionate benefit is not a matter of right and would
offend the principle of equality in employment, on the other hand the
passage of time would further negate the claim of a person to be given a
compassionate benefit, for, the belated grant of benefit could not be
justified as it would lose the very purpose against the compassionate
appointment to be offered and the scheme for such appointments to be
implemented. The compassionate appointment is always an immediate
consideration and has to be a matter of urgent relief when the family of
the deceased employee would have needed it. Element of immediacy has
to be a sine qua non for such kind of appointment.
6.5 The benefit of lump-sum compensation under the said Resolution
was a substituted relief for appointment as per the changed policy of the
State Government. The principles which apply for grant of appointment
would also apply in considering the case of a claimant under said
Resolution for lumpsum compensation. In other words, if the delay was
to be the ground to deny the compassionate appointment, the very factor
of delay would disentitle the petitioner to be considered for lumpsum
compensation, both having the object of providing immediate relief at
the relevant point of time to the person and his family. After five years,
the grant of benefit of lump-sum compensation was not justified in law."
6. It is eminently justified to observe on part of learned single Judge
that object of grant compassionate payment to the kiths and kins of the
deceased employee is to meet with the immediate financial crises.
Passage of time disentitles the claimant to get the compassionate benefits,
for, for the very fact that they survived for all the long years. In the
preset case, 6 years have passed after which the petition was filed and
grievance was raised seeking benefit of compassionate lumpsum amount.
6.1 This court is entirely in agreement with the reasons supplied by
learned single Judge to dismiss the petition. No interference is called for
in the Letters Patent jurisdiction.
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7. The Letters Patent Appeal is dismissed. Civil Application will not
survive.
(N.V.ANJARIA, J)
(CHEEKATI MANAVENDRANATH ROY, J)
C.M. JOSHI
