The Karnataka High Court last month directed the reconsideration of an application for compassionate appointment where the widow of an employee of the Northwestern Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (NKSRTC) exceeded the cut-off age.
Petitioner Saroja’s husband passed away in 2023 while on duty as a driver for the NKSRTC, for which he had worked since 2006. Her application for a compassionate-grounds appointment was rejected in January, as she had crossed the cut-off age of 43 to avail of such benefits. She had also submitted a representation explaining the financial condition of her family.
Saroja’s counsel stated that the cut-off age defeated the very objective of a compassionate-grounds appointment, since it meant that one had to become a widow before 43 years of age to make use of it. He also stated that in a case with identical circumstances, the high court had ruled against the age limit being the grounds to reject an appointment.
On the other hand, the counsel for the NKSRTC argued that the said judgment was itself being appealed against and that the cut-off age was not relaxable, adding that the cut-off was 38 years of age, over which a relaxation of five years could be considered.
Agreeing with the earlier judgment, a bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna explained in an order dated October 14 that the high court had ruled that “…merely because the age of the applicant seeking appointment on compassionate grounds is beyond 43 years, the appointment cannot be denied, and has directed the appointment to be considered without reference to the upper age limit, and has further directed that cases of this kind need to be regulated by formulating a humane policy.”
Allowing Saroja’s plea, the bench referred to a prior ruling of the Supreme Court. “The need for compassionate appointment should be the consideration by any Corporation or the employer while rejecting or accepting the application. The petition deserves to succeed on the sole score that the Corporation will have to now reconsider the application of the petitioner seeking appointment on compassionate grounds with regard to a relaxable age limit or the extendable age limit, owing to the circumstances,” the bench said.
Having made these observations, the high court directed the application for compassionate-grounds appointment to be reconsidered within eight weeks.