Compassionate appointment is an exception to the general rule of appointment which is a way of providing employment to the family of the deceased employee on compassionate grounds. The objective is only to provide solace and succour to the family in difficult times and, thus, its relevancy is at that stage of time when the employee passes away. The mere death of an employee in harness does not entitle his family to such source of livelihood. The authority concerned has to examine the financial condition of the family of the deceased, and it is only if it is satisfied that, but for the provision of employment, the family will not be able to meet the crisis that the job is offered to the eligible member of the family. It was further asseverated in the said judgment that compassionate employment cannot be granted after a lapse of reasonable period as the consideration of such employment is not a vested right which can be exercised at any time in the future. It was further held that the object of compassionate appointment is to enable the family to get over the financial crisis that it faces at the time of the death of sole breadwinner. Thus, compassionate appointment cannot be claimed or offered after a significant lapse of time and after the crisis is over.
The Government of ‘N’ formulated a scheme for providing compassionate appointment to the dependants of government servants who retired on medical invalidation. By a further notification, the benefit of the scheme was restricted to cases where the government servants retired on medical invalidation, at least five years before attaining the age of superannuation. Consider the given facts, and decide which of the following is correct in relation to the validity of this rule of compassionate appointment?
Correct Answer :
The scheme is valid as it is not arbitrary and the government has the right to formulate such rules.
Solution :
Correct Answer: The scheme is valid as it is not arbitrary and the government has the right to formulate such rules.
Step-by-Step Explanation:
1. Understanding Compassionate Appointment:
As stated in the passage, compassionate appointment is an exception to the general rule of public employment. Its primary objective is to offer immediate financial relief (solace and succour) to the family of a deceased or medically invalidated employee facing an unexpected financial crisis.
2. Evaluating the Classification & Rationality:
The Government of ‘N’ introduced a condition requiring that medical invalidation occur at least five years before the normal age of superannuation (retirement). This rule is designed to prevent abuse or misuse of the scheme (such as seeking medical invalidation right near retirement to pass the job to a dependant) and ensures that compassionate appointment is granted genuinely to meet an unforeseen crisis.
3. Constitutional Validity & Policy Making:
The government, as an employer, has the authority to frame policies, rules, and qualifying criteria for compassionate appointments. So long as the criteria fixed by the government are reasonable, non-arbitrary, and serve a rational nexus with the objective of the scheme, the courts uphold such conditions as constitutionally valid.
Conclusion:
Therefore, the rule restricting the benefit to cases where the employee retired on medical invalidation at least five years prior to superannuation is reasonable, non-arbitrary, and within the legal rights of the government to formulate.
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