Editor’s Note
This article highlights a key legal clarification from the Himachal Pradesh High Court, which has upheld the importance of adhering to stipulated timelines for applications seeking compassionate appointments. The ruling underscores that such provisions are governed by specific scheme rules.
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has stated that an application for appointment on compassionate grounds must be made within the stipulated time limit. The court clarified that any person has the right to seek appointment only under the rules of the compassionate appointment scheme. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Ranjan Sharma dismissed an appeal filed in this context.
The division bench, while dismissing the appeal of Khubvati related to the case, said she should have applied for appointment on compassionate grounds within three years of her mother’s death as per the rules. According to the case, the petitioner’s mother, Hira Devi, was in government service. Hira Devi died on June 20, 2009, during her service period. Khubvati did not apply for compassionate appointment within the stipulated period after her mother’s death.
The appellant submitted the application on March 20, 2013. This was done after the stipulated time. In response, the respondents at the government level rejected the application on February 28, 2014. The respondents’ basis for rejecting the appeal was that Khubvati had made this application outside the stipulated time limit. The claim was outside the time limit. Following this, the appellant filed a writ petition before the High Court. A single bench had dismissed that petition. The single bench also dismissed the writ petition on the grounds of not applying within the time limit.
The single bench had said that since the petitioner applied for the job for the first time only on March 20, 2013, it was rejected as a time-barred claim according to Clause-8 of the policy dated January 18, 1990. No relaxation could be granted in the three-year time limit for submitting the job application. The government’s argument was that the petitioner has no right to compassionate appointment outside the policy of January 18, 1990. Later, the division bench also stated that adherence to the stipulated time limit for applying on compassionate grounds is mandatory.
