Gowtham vs The Director General
2024 Latest Caselaw 18837 Mad

Madras High Court

Gowtham vs The Director General on 25 September, 2024

Author: N.Anand Venkatesh

Bench: N.Anand Venkatesh

                                                                           WP.No.17429 of 2023



                                     In the High Court of Judicature at Madras

                                                Dated : 25.9.2024

                                                     Coram :

                                  The Honourable Mr.Justice N.ANAND VENKATESH

                                          Writ Petition No.17429 of 2023


                Gowtham                                                    ...Petitioner
                                                        Vs

                1.The Director General, National
                  Highways Department,
                  Chennai-25.

                2.The Chief Engineer, National
                  Highways Department,
                  Chennai-25.

                3.The Superintending Engineer,
                  National Highways Department,
                  Chennai-106.

                4.The Divisional Engineer,
                  National Highways Department,
                  Villupuram-605602.                                       ...Respondents



                          PETITION under Article 226 of The Constitution of India praying

                for the issuance of a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus to call for the

                records vide. Proceedings No.1146/NR 7/2023 dated 16.3.2023 on the

                file of the 1st respondent, quash the same and consequently direct the

                1st respondent to appoint the petitioner in a suitable post on

                compassionate ground.

https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis
                1/5
                                                                            WP.No.17429 of 2023



                                  For Petitioner     :     Mr.P.K.Harinath Babu for
                                                           Mr.P.Muthukumarasamy
                                  For Respondents :        Mr.P.Balathandayutham, SGP


                                                         ORDER

The writ petition has been filed challenging the proceedings of

the first respondent dated 16.3.2023 and for a consequential direction

to the first respondent to appoint the petitioner in any suitable post on

compassionate grounds.

2. Heard the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the

petitioner and the learned Special Government Pleader appearing for

the respondents.

3. The case of the petitioner is as follows :

(i) The petitioner's father was working as a Record Clerk in the

Highways Department. He died in a road accident on 01.10.2016. The

mother of the petitioner gave a representation dated 05.1.2018 to the

fourth respondent to consider her request for appointment on

compassionate grounds. When the representation given by the mother

of the petitioner is pending consideration, the petitioner, after attaining

majority, submitted an application on 19.11.2022 seeking for

appointment on compassionate grounds and it was rejected by the

https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

fourth respondent by order dated 29.11.2022.

(ii) Thereafter, the petitioner made another representation

dated 25.1.2023 to the respondents to consider his request for

appointment on compassionate grounds and it was rejected by the

impugned order on the ground that he did not submit the application

within three years from the date of death of his father and the order

dated 29.11.2022 passed by the fourth respondent was confirmed. In

this writ petition, the order dated 16.3.2023 passed by the first

respondent is under challenge.

4. This Court has carefully considered the submissions of the

learned counsel on either side and perused the materials available on

record and more particularly the impugned order.

5. In the considered view of this Court, the impugned

proceedings of the first respondent dated 16.3.2023 is perfectly in line

with the judgment of the Full Bench of this Court in the case of

Nandini Dev Vs. Secretary to Government [W.P.(MD) No.7016

of 2011 etc. cases dated 11.3.2020]. This Full Bench judgment was

subsequently followed by a Division Bench of the Madurai Bench of this

Court in the case of V.Deepika Vs. District Collector [W.A.(MD)

No.682 of 2022 dated 08.7.2022]. In view of the above, there is no

https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

ground to interfere with the impugned proceedings of the first

respondent dated 16.3.2023.

6. On going through the materials, it is seen that the request

made by the petitioner's mother for appointment on compassionate

grounds is still pending, in which, various clarifications were sought for

and the petitioner's mother also responded to them.

7. Therefore, since the mother of the petitioner has already

submitted an application on time and the same is under consideration,

there shall be a direction to the fourth respondent to deal with the

same and take a final decision within a period of six weeks from the

date of receipt of a copy of this order. The petitioner's mother is

permitted to make a fresh representation to the fourth respondent

along with all the relevant documents including a copy of this order.

8. The writ petition is disposed of in the above terms.

25.9.2024 RS

https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis

N.ANAND VENKATESH,J

RS

To

1.The Director General, National Highways Department, Chennai-25.

2.The Chief Engineer, National Highways Department, Chennai-25.

3.The Superintending Engineer, National Highways Department, Chennai-106.

4.The Divisional Engineer, National Highways Department, Villupuram-605602.

25.9.2024

https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis