2018 (10) TMI 1963

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.....P.) the following question was referred to the Larger Bench:     "Whether the right for consideration of compassionate appointment is a vested right?" and "in case of consideration of case of compassionate appointment pursuant to death of deceased employee, whether the policy prevailing at the time of death of employee or the policy prevailing at the time of application for compassionate appointment would be applicable?". The Division Bench at Jabalpur in Writ Appeal No. 326/2017 (Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board v. Chandra Bosh Tripathi) following the ratio laid down by the Full Bench of this Court in the case of Bank of Maharashtra and others v. Manoj Kumar Dehria and another 2010 (4) MPHT 18 (FB) held that the polic....

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....erpretation beyond permissible limits on humanitarian ground. Such appointment should, therefore, be provided immediately to redeem the family in distress. 3. The Apex Court in the case of State Bank of India and another v. Raj Kumar (2010) 11 SCC 661 had an occasion to discuss the object of the compassionate appointment scheme and clarified the judgment in the case of Jaspal Kaur (supra). It was held that the appointment under the scheme can be made only if the scheme is in force and not after it is abolished/withdrawn. It follows therefore, therefore, that when a scheme is abolished, any pending application seeking compassionate appointment under the scheme will also cease to exist, unless saved. The mere fact that an application was m....

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....ight, as it is not a vested right. The Court should not stretch the provision by liberal interpretation beyond permissible limits on humanitarian grounds. Such appointment should, therefore, be provided immediately to redeem the family in distress. It is improper to keep such a case pending for years.     11. The word "vested" is defined in Black's Law Dictionary (6th Edition) at page 1563, as.     'vested'-Fixed; accrued; settled; absolute; complete. Having the character or given in the rights of absolute ownership; not contingent; not subject to be defeated by a condition precedent. Rights are 'vested' when right to enjoyment, present or prospective, has become property of some parti....

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....intment?     Or     (3) The policy prevailing at the time of prevailing at the time of consideration of the application for compassionate appointment?" and held in para-33 as under:         "33. In view of the foregoing discussion, we proceed to record our conclusions as follows:-             (a) The grant of compassionate appointment is not a vested legal right. It is only a benefit granted in certain circumstances de hors the normal rule of appointment and when the employer has a right to evolve an appropriate policy after considering various factors for granting such a benefit, the considerations have to be ....

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.... existence.             (e) The decisions rendered in T. Swamy Dass (supra) and Heeralal Baria (supra), do not lay down the correct law and are hereby overruled.             (f) Any right flowing from a settlement between the employer and employees' union or association has to be in a different compartment.             (g) It would be the obligation of the employer to deal with the application with immediacy and promptitude so that the grievance of a family in distress gets a fair treatment in accordance with law." 6. In the case of SBI v. Jaspal Kaur (2007) 9 SC....