The Odisha Government’s standing rule disqualifying a ‘married’ daughter and excluding her from consideration for compassionate appointment apart from being arbitrary and discriminating is a retrograde step of the State Government as welfare State, ruled the Orissa High Court.
The yardstick for extending the benefit of compassionate appointment should be dependency of the dependents on the deceased government servant and the marital status of dependent should not be an impediment for his/her consideration on compassionate ground to provide support to suffering family on account of loss of an earning member in the family, the Orissa High Court ruled while directing the state government to appoint a married woman in the post, for which she is entitled to.
The Government had earlier denied the applicant the appointment on the basis of a standing rule that prohibited married daughters from availing the benefit of such recruitments on compassionate ground.
“A daughter after her marriage doesn’t cease to be daughter of the father or mother and obliged to maintain their parents and daughter cannot be allowed to escape her responsibility on the ground that she is now married, therefore, such a policy of the State Government disqualifying, a ‘married’ daughter and excluding her from consideration apart from being arbitrary and discriminating is a retrograde step of state government as welfare State, on which stamp of approval cannot be made by this Court”, the single bench judge Justice Dr S K Panigrahi ordered.
The Court set aside the government’s decision rejecting the application of the petitioner for appointment under Rehabilitation Assistance Scheme.