The Supreme Court has held that individuals who accept employment on compassionate grounds cannot later seek appointment to a higher post by claiming parity with regular recruitment standards. The Court clarified that compassionate appointment is a special concession meant to provide immediate financial relief to a family in distress, and not a mode of career advancement.
The ruling came while the Court was deciding a service-related dispute where the claimant, after accepting a lower post through compassionate appointment, sought elevation to a higher position on the basis of qualifications and service rules. Rejecting the plea, the Court observed that compassionate appointments are granted as an exception to the normal recruitment process and are intended solely to alleviate hardship caused by the sudden death of a government employee.
The bench emphasised that once a candidate voluntarily accepts a compassionate appointment, they are deemed to have accepted the terms and conditions attached to such employment. Allowing subsequent claims for higher posts, the Court noted, would undermine the very objective of the compassionate appointment scheme and disrupt the principles of equal opportunity in public employment.
The Supreme Court further observed that compassionate appointment schemes must be interpreted strictly, as they depart from the constitutional mandate of open and competitive recruitment under Articles 14 and 16. Any expansion of such schemes beyond their intended purpose, the Court cautioned, would be legally impermissible.
The Court has reaffirmed that compassionate appointments are a form of immediate welfare support and do not confer a right to promotion or appointment to a higher post at a later stage.
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