Service Law – Appointment on compassionate ground – Allegation that appointments of respondent-employees were based on forged/fabricated and bogus documents – Employees were terminated from services – Original Applications filed before CAT against the termination order – CAT dismissed the applications holding that applicants have not stated about the service particulars of their fathers viz where their father working or whom they retired etc. – However, the High Court held that the order of the Tribunal was untenable – Correctness: Held: The principle of compassionate appointment has been put in place to ameliorate suffering that is cast upon members of a family upon the sudden death of the earning member – An equally well-recognized principle is that compassionate appointment cannot be claimed as a matter of right – It is therefore clear that a person, claiming an appointment on such ground, has to demonstrate his relationship to the deceased person and eligibility for appointment – The same cannot be done without placing all relevant documents before the competent authority – The Tribunal as also the authority has recorded a categorical finding that the respondent-employees had not submitted any document to establish their claim and submitted forged and bogus documents – It was incumbent upon them to produce all documents, on the basis of which they could have said that their dismissal from service on the part of the appellant-employer was incorrect and unjust in law – However, the respondent-employees did not furnish any document – On the aspect of non-compliance of the principles of natural justice, this Court finds that the authority had issued show-cause notices to the respondent-employees, to which they responded – The respondent-employees have, at every stage, actively participated in the adjudication process of their alleged improper and illegal appointments – Thus, the impugned judgment is liable to be set aside – The respondent-employees were rightly dismissed from service by the appellant-employer – The order passed by the Tribunal dismissing the respondent-employees’ original applications is restored. [Paras 7, 8, 9, 13, 15]
Words and Phrases – Fraud – Meaning of – Discussed. Service Law – Compassionate appointment – Fraud – Protection under Constitution:
Held: Fraud vitiates all proceedings – Compassionate appointment is granted to those persons whose families are left deeply troubled or destitute by the primary breadwinner either having been incapacitated or having passed away – So when persons seeking appointment on such ground attempt to falsely establish their eligibility, as has been done in this case, such positions cannot be allowed to be retained – The respondent-employees in the present case, having obtained their position by fraud, would not be considered to be holding a post for the purpose of the protections under the Constitution. [Para 14]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Ankit Gyan. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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