Patna High Court
Prabhat Kumar Datt @ Prabhat Kumar vs The State Of Bihar on 12 August, 2025
Author: Sudhir Singh
Bench: Sudhir Singh
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
Letters Patent Appeal No.67 of 2022
In
Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.8493 of 2021
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1. Prabhat Kumar Datt @ Prabhat Kumar, aged about 34 years, male, Son of
Late Anjani Kumar Datt, Resident of Mohalla - Mumtaj Gali, Raghunath
Tola, Anishabad, P.S. - Gardanibagh, District - Patna.
2. Anupama Datt, aged about 59 years, female, w/o Late Anjani Kumar Datt,
Resident of Mohalla - Mumtaj Gali, Raghunath Tola, Anishabad, P.S. -
Gardanibagh, District - Patna.
... ... Appellants
Versus
1. The State of Bihar through the Principal Secretary, Public Health &
Engineering Department, Govt. of Bihar, Patna.
2. The Executive Engineer, Public Health Pramandal Patna, West Patna.
3. District Magistrate Cum President, District Level Compassionate
Committee, Collectoriate Office, Establishment Branch, Patna.
4. Deputy Collector, Establishment, Collectoriate Office, Patna.
... ... Respondents
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Appellants : Mr. Deepak Kumar Sinha, Advocate
For the Respondents : Mr. S. Raza Ahmad, Sr. Advocate (AAG-5)
Mr. Vishwambhar Prasad, AC to AAG-5
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SUDHIR SINGH
and
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAMESH CHAND MALVIYA
ORAL JUDGMENT
(Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SUDHIR SINGH)
Date : 12-08-2025
Heard Mr. Deepak Kumar Sinha, learned counsel
for the appellants/writ petitioners and Mr. S. Raza Ahmad,
learned senior counsel for the respondents.
2. The present intra court appeal has been filed
challenging the judgment dated 12.01.2022, passed by a learned
Single Judge of this Court, in C.W.J.C. No.8493 of 2021,
Patna High Court L.P.A No.67 of 2022 dt.12-08-2025
2/5
whereby the learned Single Judge while dismissing the writ
petition, held that the appellant No.1 is ineligible for
appointment on compassionate ground.
3. As per the facts on record, the father of the
appellant died on 19.12.2014. Appellant No.1 applied for
appointment on compassionate grounds after the death of his
father. The application was rejected by the DM-cum-Chairman,
District Level Compassionate Committee, Patna, in the meeting
dated 27.07.2016, on the ground that the appellant had passed
the Matriculation Examination from Hindi Vidyapeeth, Deoghar
which is a non-recognised institution as per the State
Government Policy. Further, a letter was issued on 02.09.2016
under the signature of the Executive Engineer, Public Health
Pramandal, Patna West, whereby the rejection of the application
was communicated to the appellant. Subsequently, appellant
passed the Matriculation Examination from Bihar Open School
Education and Examination Board on 20.09.2019 and again
applied for appointment on compassionate ground, which was
again rejected vide letter dated 02.02.2021, issued under the
signature of Establishment Deputy Collector, Patna, on the
ground that the earlier claim was rejected, and no review of such
claim is possible.
Patna High Court L.P.A No.67 of 2022 dt.12-08-2025
3/5
4. The learned Single Judge held that the
compassionate appointment is not a fundamental right and it is
only in the interest of meeting harness in the family, and
dismissed the writ petition.
5. Learned counsel for the appellants submitted
that the order dated 02.02.2021, vide memo No.17, issued by the
Establishment, Deputy Collector, is bad in law, and the appellant
obtained the requisite qualification after his first application was
rejected by the concerned authorities. The appellant had
obtained the requisite qualification and again represented his
application with the valid matriculation certificate on
20.11.2019
, i.e., within five years of the death of his father.
6. Learned counsel for the respondents submitted
that the learned Single Judge had rightly dismissed the writ
petition, and the judgment of the learned Single Judge requires
no interference.
7. The application for compassionate appointment
was made by the petitioner on 02.09.2016. The said application
was rejected by the authorities as the appellant had passed
matriculation examination from Hindi Vidyapeeth, Deoghar,
which was not recognised by the State of Bihar. The first
rejection order was never challenged before any Court.
Patna High Court L.P.A No.67 of 2022 dt.12-08-2025
8. Thereafter, the appellant No.1 moved a second
application along with the matriculation certificate issued by
Bihar Board Open Schooling and Examination for consideration
of compassionate appointment against the death of his father on
20.11.2019. The said second application was also rejected, vide
order dated 01.02.2021, by the Establishment, Deputy Collector
which is 'Annexure-11' to the writ petition. The said order was
assailed by the appellants before the learned Single Judge. The
findings of the learned Single Judge in paragraph 4 of judgment,
passed in CWJC No.8493 of 2021 is reproduced as under:
"The object of providing compassionate
appointment is to meet immediate harness in the
family. Petitioners' grievance was required to be
examined as on the date of his father's death i.e. on
19.12.2014. Undisputedly, as on 19.12.2014,
petitioner no. 1 did not have the prescribed
educational qualification. Merely obtaining
qualification on 20.09.2019 does not revive his
eligibility to be appointed on compassionate
ground with reference to his father's date of death
on 19.12.2014."
9. In our view, compassionate appointment is not a
statutory right which can be claimed by the appellant No.1. The
purpose of such scheme is that the family of the deceased may
not go through the financial hardship. In this case, after the
Patna High Court L.P.A No.67 of 2022 dt.12-08-2025
death of the father of the appellant No.1 approximately 11 years
have passed, and the family of the appellant continued to
survive. Thus, the object of the scheme itself is frustrated in the
present case.
10. Considering the findings given by the learned
Single Judge, the facts of the case and the discussions made
above, we do not find any perversity in the order of the learned
Single Judge.
11. Accordingly, the present appeal stands
dismissed.
(Sudhir Singh, J.)
(Ramesh Chand Malviya, J.)
Gaurav Kumar,
Mayank/-
AFR/NAFR N.A.F.R.
CAV DATE N.A.
Uploading Date 18.08.2025
Transmission Date N.A.
