MADURAI: Dismissing a plea by a woman seeking compassionate appointment for her daughter, the Madras high court observed that the scheme of compassionate appointment is a concession and cannot be claimed as a matter of right.
Justice S M Subramaniam observed that the scheme was introduced to mitigate the circumstances arising on account of sudden demise of a government employee. Compassionate appointment is not a regular appointment, nor an appointment under the constitutional scheme. It is a concession granted to the government employees on certain exceptional circumstances.
Equal opportunity in public employment is a constitutional mandate. All appointments are to be made in accordance with the rules and by providing equal opportunity to participate in the process of selection. Insofar as the compassionate appointments are concerned, no selection is conducted, suitability or eligibility are not tested, but people are appointed merely based on the death of an employee. Therefore, compassionate appointment is to be restricted in the interest of the efficient public administration, observed the judge.
