General Clarifications onthe concept of Compassionate Appointments

For:Compassionate Appointment Scheme was formulated long years ago say in 1950s. It is to give appointment on compassionate grounds to a Government servant’s dependent family member. The government servant who died in harness or who got retired due to medical reasons. In such cases, wherein the family is in a difficult condition even to survive, the government allots job – job on compassionate basis. In brief, Compassionate Appointment is like a boon to the Government servant’s dependentsin the challenging life to deal with financial difficulties.

Who can make this appointment?: 1. Joint Secretary incharge of administration in the Ministry/ Department concerned.

2. Department Head under the Supplementary Rule 2 (10) in the case of attached and subordinate offices.

3. Ministry/ Department’s Secretary in special types of cases.

Such appointments can be made to which posts?: Group ‘C’ or Group ‘D’ against the direct recruitment quota.

Eligibility: 1. The government servant’s family should be needy and deserves immediate help for relief from financial challenges.

2. Compassionate Appointment’s applicant should be eligible and suitable for the post as per the applicable Recruitment Rules.

Some exemptions from observance of some requirements: 1. Recruitment Process – without the Staff Selection Commission/ the Employment Exchange.

2. Clearance from Surplus Cell of the Department of Personnel & Training/ Directorate General of Employment & Training.

3. Orders banning filling up of posts expressed by the Finance Ministry.

Age Criteria: Upper age limit could be made flexible whenever seen to be necessary. The lower age limit is in no way be relaxed below 18 years. Compassionate Appointment scheme may be kept on hold till minor becomes major.

It should be marked that the age eligibility shall be decided with reference to the application date and not the appointment date.

Widow case: Widow, getting appointed on compassionate ground to Group ‘D’ post, will be exempted from having the educational qualifications specified in the applicable rules, providing the post’s duties can be convincingly executed by the widow without possessing such educational qualifications.

Availability of Vacancies:1. Compassionate Appointment is only on regular basisand only if such vacancies designed for that reason is present. Hence, Compassionate Appointment scheme will not be applicable to the deceased’s dependants wherein the deceased was on daily wage/ casual/ ad hoc/ contract/ re-employment/ extension/ consultant grounds.

2. Suchappointment’s can be created upto 5% vacancies coming under direct recruitment portion in any group ‘C’ or ‘D’ post.

Individual nominated for Compassionate Appointment should be adjusted in the recruitment table against the proper category like SC/ST/OBC/General as per the type to which the individual belongs.

3. The border line of 5% of direct recruitment vacancies for creating Compassionate Appointment should not be crossed against any other vacancy, for example – Sports quota.

4. This employment is not limited to the Ministry/ place where deceased or medically retired government servant had been. This employment can be anywhere under the Government of India subjecting to presence of a suitable employment created for Compassionate Appointment.

5. In case if there are not sufficient openings to appoint the individuals present in the Compassionate Appointment’s waiting list, the administrative authorities can take up the matter with the government’s other departments to allot appointment sooner.

Delayed Requests for Compassionate Appointment: Authorities can take into account Compassionate Appointment requests even when the government servant’s death/ retirement on medical reasons had happened long back like five years. However, the Compassionate Appointment’s basis should be strictly examined.

What if the widow is thinking for re-marriage?: A widow, joining on Compassionate Appointment, can continue to work even after her second marriage.

What if there is an earner in the family?: 1. In such needy cases, a dependent family member may be considered for Compassionate Appointment with the concerned Ministry’s prior consent, who will cross check if the grant of Compassionate Appointment is justified.

It is vital to note that the person getting employed on Compassionate Appointment ground should support other members of the family.

2. Cases wherein any family member of the deceased/ medically retired government servant is in employment already and that family member is not looking after the deceased’s other family members, extreme steps to be followed inorder to stop Compassionate Appointment from getting misused.

Mark: Compassionate Appointment scheme will provide benefit only if no serving member of the family holds any regular job in the state government.

What if the Government Servant is missing?: This state is also covered under Compassionate Appointment Scheme. But, there are some conditions too:1. Compassionate Appointment request can be heeded only after a lapse of atleast 2 years from the date from when the government servant has been missing, including that

a. FIR for that missing person has been lodged

b. Missing person is not getting found

c. Concerned authority feels that the case is not fake.

2. Exceptions to this scheme-benefit:

a. Government servant had less than 2 years to be retired on the date from which he has been untraced

b. Servant is doubted to commit fraud or doubted to have gone far-abroador

c. Doubted to have become a terrorist member.

3. Compassionate Appointment in the case of a missing government servant would not be a matter of right. Also, it will be a conditional one, involving the vacancy availability.

4. Police investigations are taken into account at the time of considering request for Compassionate Appointment.

5. Decision on any such Compassionate Appointment request should be taken only at the level of the Secretary of the concerned Ministry/ Department.

Procedures to be followed in Compassionate Appointment cases: Like applying, personal interview and so on.

What about Undertaking?: It is necessary for an applicant to give an undertaking stating that the applicant will look after the other family members properly and if it is found that family members are not being maintained properly by the applicant, the applicant’s appointment may be terminated immediately-without much enquiry.

Whether Transferable?: A Compassionate Appointment cannot be transferred to any other individual.

How many family members will be covered by Compassionate Appointment scheme?: Only one member.

Relating Disputes where to be referred?: Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms is in charge to look after the issues pertaining to Compassionate Appointments.

Earlier and even at present many people think that only unmarried daughters are eligible to apply for Compassionate Appointment. However, the surprise is even married daughters are entitled to get jobs on Compassionate Appointments as not hiring them on this ground is not Constitutionally valid. It is violative of Article 16 (2) of The Constitution Of India 1949 which states - No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect or, any employment or office under the State.

Calcutta High Court had stated “A daughter undoubtedly acquires a new relationship on marriage. She does not however lose the old relationship; she remains a daughter. Once a daughter always a daughter: she is a daughter before, during and after marriage.”

The HC noted that it is not correct saying that once the daughter gets married, the dependency factor totallygoes.

Hope that the aid of Compassionate Appointment be maintained by the concerned authorities and the misuse of it is in no way into the picture.