Married daughters eligible for compassionate appointments: SC
NATIONAL: The Supreme Court Tuesday ruled that married daughters cannot be excluded from compassionate appointments deeming such exclusion arbitrary and unconstitutional. Compassionate appointments are provisions where a family member is offered employment following the death or early retirement of a government employee due to medical reasons.
This decision arose from an appeal concerning a married woman, whose claim for a position as a fair price shop dealer, following her deceased father's service, was initially rejected by the Allahabad High Court. The court criticised a 2019 government order that classified family members for this purpose excluding married daughters.
The judges observed that the underlying goal of the dependent quota is to support the immediate family of a deceased employee facing financial challenges thus making the exclusion unsustainable.
Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe led the bench that overturned the high court's verdict enforcing the necessity for inclusive definitions of family in such compassionate contexts.