Sachin Tamang v. The Principal Secretary, Public Enterprise And Industrialreconstruction Dept And ORS

23.09.2024 AGM Calcutta High Court In the Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri Appellate Jurisdiction W.P.A 1862 of 2024 Mr. Sachin Tamang -versus The Principal Secretary, Public Enterprises & Industrial Reconstruction Department & Ors.

Mr. Pratip Khati.

...For the Petitioner.

Mr. Hirak Barman.

Mr. Prodip Sarkar.

... For the State.

The prayer of the petitioner seeking appointment on compassionate ground filed in the year 1998 has not been disposed of till date.

The respondent authority relies on the communicating memo of the Commissioner of Public Enterprise and Industrial Reconstruction Department being No. 123 dated 10th February, 2016 which mentions that the Finance Department has opined that the question of appointment on compassionate ground to the dependents of the employees of the undertaking of Darjeeling Ropeway Co. Ltd may not arise as there is no policy of appointment on compassionate ground in the State Public Sector Enterprises.

It is settled law that compassionate appointment is made in accordance with the scheme and in a time bound manner. In the present case, the application of the petitioner is pending consideration from 1998. In the absence of a proper scheme, the respondents may not be in a position to consider the prayer.

Learned advocate for the petitioner stresses on the fact that at the time of filing the application, a scheme was prevailing.

The Court is afraid that the aforesaid submission of the petitioner cannot be accepted.

Compassionate appointment are to be dealt with in a very time bound manner as the same is meant to tide over the immediate financial crisis faced by the family of the deceased employee.

In the instant case, the mother of the petitioner died in harness in March 1997. The prayer of the petitioner in late 2024 for being considered for appointment on compassionate ground cannot be allowed.

The writ petition fails and is hereby dismissed. Urgent certified photocopy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties upon compliance of usual legal formalities.

( Amrita Sinha, J.)