The Allahabad High Court stepped in to clarify the process for filling vacancies following the death of a government servant, emphasizing that dependency on the deceased, not a registered Will, must guide the decision. The Court’s intervention comes amid a dispute between the brother of the deceased and the widow over eligibility for a government post under the U.P. Rules of 1974.
The controversy began when Ranjeet Kumar, a government employee, passed away while in service. His brother filed for a compassionate appointment citing a registered Will favoring him, while the widow also staked her claim as the legal spouse. Counsel for the petitioner argued that the authorities failed to consider his dependency and role in supporting the deceased’s family, relying instead on the existence of competing claims. The administrative order had denied both applicants, citing difficulty in determining eligibility amid conflicting documents.
Rejecting this approach, the High Court observed, “The aspect of registered Will in favour of any member of family does not have any role to play with regard to grant of compassionate employment. The only aspect requires to be seen for such benefit is the suitability of the person for providing such employment.”
The Court directed the Executive Engineer, PWD, Lakhimpur Kheri, to reassess the applications of both the petitioner and the widow, granting an opportunity to all relevant family members, including the deceased’s daughter, and to decide the matter expeditiously within eight weeks.
Case Title: Ache Lal Vs. State Of U.P. Thru. Addl. Chief Secy. Public Works Deptt. Lko. And 3 Others
Case No.: WRIT - A No. - 14910 of 2025
Coram: Justice Manish Mathur
Advocate for Petitioner: Adv. Aadya Antya, Vedant Srivastava, Virendra Prasad Srivastava
Advocate for Respondent: C.S.C.
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