2011 (4) TMI 1540

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....spondent K. Janaki died on September 1, 1993, while giving birth to their second child. At that time she was working as a Senior Accountant in the Office of the Directorate of Postal Accounts, Madras. On September 21, 1993, the Respondent made an application for payment of her death-cum-terminal dues. A rival claim was raised by the mother of the deceased but the Respondent was able to obtain the succession certificate and on that basis he got payment of a sum of Rs. 71,000/- as death-cum-retirement gratuity of his deceased wife, in addition to a sum of Rs. 2,998/- per month as family pension. 3. On January 11, 1994, the Respondent made the request for compassionate appointment but he was informed by the concerned departmental authoritie....

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....proval of the Secretary of the Department concerned. It went on to say: The Scheme, therefore, does not lay emphasize on the indigence as a criterion for withholding or offering compassionate appointment. Compassionate appointment is to be made as a result of the death of the deceased official and when his/her family is in immediate need of assistance. (emphasis added) It further said: Admittedly, there is a young son has to be looked after and brought up. It cannot, therefore, be said that the family is not in need of income. The fact that the family receives pension also no ground to decline appointment nowhere provides that in case where the family is paid pension. 5. On going through the judgmen....

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....xcept by way of the concession that may be extended by the employer under the rules or by a separate scheme, to enable the family of the deceased to get over the sudden financial crisis. The claim for compassionate appointment is therefore traceable only to the scheme framed by the employer for such employment and there is no right whatsoever outside such scheme. An appointment under the scheme can be made only if the scheme is in force and not after it is abolished/withdrawn. It follows therefore that when a scheme is abolished, any pending application seeking appointment under the scheme will also cease to exist, unless saved. The mere fact that an application was made when the scheme was in force, will not by itself create a right in fav....

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....ission or otherwise so as to fill such vacancies by appointment on compassionate grounds. 8. In the writ petition filed by the Respondent before the High Court it was stated that he was unemployed. It was further stated that in August, 1988, one of his friends took him to Singapore in search of employment. But there too the Respondent was unable to find a "lucrative job". He came back to India after staying there for about four years in 1992. From the writ petition it appears that though the Respondent might have been struggling for financial upliftment, he certainly cannot be described as an indigent or destitute. 9. The case of the Respondent clearly did not come under the revised and consolidated scheme formulated by Office Memoran....