High Court favour right of married daughters for compassionate appointments
Photo used for indicative purpose only. Source internet
Shimla, July 10
In a landmark judgment, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has ruled that married daughters are eligible for compassionate appointments, provided they are the only offspring of deceased employees.
This ruling came in response to a petition filed by Rani Devi, whose application for a compassionate appointment was initially rejected on the grounds of her marital status.
The bench, comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Ranjan Sharma, delivered the verdict aligning their decision with previous judgments in similar cases.
This decision builds upon the precedents set by the Division Benches in the cases of Mamta Devi vs. State of Himachal Pradesh and Sapna Kumari vs. State of Himachal Pradesh, where the courts ruled in favor of granting compassionate appointments to married daughters.
Rani Devi’s father, who served as a Chowkidar in the I & PH Department, passed away in 2004. Despite being the sole daughter, her application for a compassionate appointment was denied in 2008 based on state policy, which at the time stipulated that only unmarried daughters could be considered.
After multiple legal battles and the dissolution of the H.P. State Administrative Tribunal, her petition was finally heard by the High Court.
In their judgment, the justices highlighted that the rationale applied in the cases of Mamta Devi and Sapna Kumari should be equally applicable to Rani Devi’s case.
Consequently, they directed the state to reconsider her application in light of these precedents and to issue a decision by September 15, 2024.
This landmark decision reaffirms the rights of married daughters to seek employment on compassionate grounds, ensuring that marital status does not serve as a barrier to their rightful claims.
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