The State of Karnataka, and Others v. Sachin Rathod

( , ( ( (IN(THE(HIGH(COURT(OF(KARNATAKA((

KALABURAGI(BENCH(

THDATED(THIS(THE(8 (DAY(OF(OCTOBER,(2025(

PRESENT(

THE(HON'BLE(MR.(JUSTICE(H.T.NARENDRA(PRASAD(

(AND((

(THE(HON'BLE(MR.(JUSTICE(TYAGARAJA(N.(INAVALLY(

WRIT(PETITION(NO.200771(OF(2025((S-KAT)(

BETWEEN:(( (

1., THE,STATE,OF,KARNATAKA,,, THROUGH,ITS,SECRETARY,,, DEPARTMENT,OF,SCHOOL,EDUCATION,AND, ND THLITERACY,,2 ,GATE,,6 ,FLOOR,,, M.S.BUILDING,,DR.,AMBEDKAR,VEEDHI,,, BENGALURU,-,560,001., ,

2., THE,ADDITIONAL,COMMISSIONER,, PUBLIC,INSTRUCTIONS,,RODDA,ROAD,,, DIET,CAMPUS,,DEPUTY,CHANNABASAPPA,ROAD,,, Digitallytisignedtiby DHARWAD,-,580,008.,VARSHA0N RASALKAR , Location:0HIGH 3., THE,DEPUTY,DIRECTOR,,, COURT0OF PUBLIC,INSTRUCTIONS,VIJAYAPURA,,, KARNATAKA DISTRICT,VIJAYAPURA,-,586,101., ,

4., THE,BLOCK,EDUCATION,OFFICER,, SINDAGI,,TALUKA,SINDAGI,,, DISTRICT,VIJAYAPURA,-,586,128., …PETITIONERS, , (BY,SRI,VIRANAGOUDA,M.BIRADAR,,A.G.A.), , , , ( , ( ( AND:( ( SRI.,SACHIN,RATHOD,, S/O,LATE,KHEMU,, OCC:,UNEMPLOYED,, R/O:,C/O:,L.L.R.,ANGADI,, H.NO.202,,KANAKADAS,BADAWANE,,, VIJAYAPURA,TALUKA,, DISTRICT,VIJAYAPURA,–,586,101., , …RESPONDENT, , (BY,SRI,ARUNKUMAR,AMARAGUNDAPPA,,ADVOCATE,FOR,C/R), , , THIS, WRIT, PETITION, IS, FILED, UNDER, ARTICLES, 226, AND, 227, OF, THE, CONSTITUTION, OF, INDIA,, PRAYING, TO, ISSUE,A,WRIT,OF,CERTIORARI,OR,ANY,OTHER,WRIT,OF,THE, NATURE,OF,CERTIORARI,OR,ANY,OTHER,APPROPRIATE,WRIT, OR,ORDER,OR,DIRECTION,TO,SET,ASIDE,THE,ORDER,DATED,

02.02.2024, PASSED, BY, THE, HON'BLE, KARNATAKA, ADMINISTRATIVE,TRIBUNAL,AT,KALABURAGI,IN,APPLICATION, NO.,20429/2023,VIDE,ANNEXURE-B,AND,ETC., , , THIS, WRIT, PETITION,, COMING, ON, FOR, PRELIMINARY, HEARING, IN, 'B', GROUP,, THIS, DAY,, ORDER, WAS, MADE, THEREIN,AS,UNDER:, , CORAM:, HON'BLE,MR.,JUSTICE,H.T.NARENDRA,PRASAD, ,AND,, ,HON'BLE,MR.,JUSTICE,TYAGARAJA,N.,INAVALLY, ( , ( ( ORAL(ORDER( (PER:,HON'BLE,MR.,JUSTICE,H.T.NARENDRA,PRASAD)( , This,petition,is,filed,by,the,State,under,Articles,226, and, 227, of, Constitution, of, India, challenging, the, order, dated, 02.02.2024, passed, by, the, Karnataka, State, Administrative, Tribunal, at, Kalaburagi, (for, short,, 'the, Tribunal'), in, Application, No.20429/2023,, whereby, the, application,filed,by,the,respondent,is,allowed.,

¶2Brief,facts,of,the,case,are,that,the,father,of,the, respondent,one,Sri.,Khemu,S/o,Bheema,Singh,Rathod,was, appointed,as,Assistant,Teacher,in,Government,School,on,

01.08.2002., , He, died, on, 04.05.2017, while, in, service, leaving,behind,his,wife,,daughter,and,3,minor,sons.,,The, daughter, of, the, deceased, employee, has, filed, an, application,for,appointment,on,compassionate,ground,on,

12.02.2018., The,application,filed,by, the,daughter,of, the, deceased,employee,was,within,the,time,limit.,By,the,time, the, petitioners, consider, her, case, for, appointment, on, ( , ( ( compassionate, ground,, she, got, married., Therefore,, on,

16.01.2019,, the, respondent, herein, has, submitted, a, representation, stating, that, the, compassionate, appointment,may,be,given,in,his,favour.,Thereafter,,the, daughter, of, deceased, gave, a, representation, seeking, to, give, employment, to, her, brother, in, her, place., The, respondent,herein,has,submitted,one,more,application,on,

24.01.2020, seeking, appointment, on, compassionate, ground.,,The,said,application,came,to,be,rejected,by,the, petitioners, by, issuing, an, endorsement, dated, 17.11.2021, and, 02.06.2023, stating, that, application, filed, by, the, respondent,herein,is,beyond,limitation.,,Being,aggrieved, by, the, same,, the, respondent, has, filed, an, application, before,the,Karnataka,State,Administrative,Tribunal,under, Section, 19, of, Administrative, Tribunal, Act, in, Application, No.20429/2023., , The, Tribunal, vide, order, dated,

02.02.2024, allowed, the, application, and, directed, the, petitioners, to, consider, the, application, of, the, respondent, ( , ( ( for,compassionate,appointment.,,Being,aggrieved,by,the, same,,State,has,preferred,this,writ,petition.,,,

¶3Learned, Additional, Government, Advocate, appearing,for,the,petitioners,contended,that,as,per,Rule,5, of, the, Karnataka, Civil, Services, (Appointment, on, Compassionate, Grounds), Rules,, 1996, (for, short,, 'the, Rules,, 1996'),, the, dependent, family, member( of, the, deceased, employee, has, to, file, an, application, within, one, year, from, the, date, of, death, of, the, employee., , The, application, filed, by, the, respondent, is, beyond, one, year.,, Therefore,, he, is, not, entitled, to, be, considered, for, appointment, on, compassionate, ground, under, the, Rules,, 1996.,Without,considering,this,provision,,the,Tribunal,has, erred,in,allowing,the,application.,,, Secondly,, he, contended, that, the, appointment, on, compassionate,ground, cannot,be, claimed,as,a, matter,of, right., Since, the, employee, died, in, the, year, 2017,, the, application,is,filed,after,three,years,of,his,death.,Now,after, ( , ( ( three, years,, they, cannot, claim, that, the, family, of, the, deceased, is, in, financial, crisis., Considering, this, aspect, of, the,matter,,he,contended,that,the,petitioners,have,rightly, issued,the,endorsement.,Hence,,he,sought,for,allowing,the, petition.,,

¶4Per, Contra,, learned, counsel, appearing, for, the, respondent,has,contended,that,the,application,filed,by,the, daughter,of,the,deceased,on,12.02.2018,is,within,the,time, limit, prescribed, under, the, Rules,, 1996., Even, after, two, years, of, death, of, her, father,, the, petitioners, have, not, considered,her,application.,,By,that,time,,she,got,married, and,therefore,,her,brother,i.e.,,the,respondent,herein,has, to,take,care,of,the,entire,family,,therefore,,the,daughter, Priyanka, and, respondent, have, submitted,representations, seeking,replacement,of,the,name,of,respondent,in,place,of, Priyanka., , Therefore,, it,does,not,amount, to, making,any, fresh,application.,,In,support,of,his,contention,,he,relied, upon,the,decision,of,the,Full,Bench,of,Bombay,High,Court, of, Nagpur, Bench, in, the, case, of, Sandhya( Gajanan( ( , ( ( Lahane( and( Another( vs.( The( State( of( Maharashtra( and(Others,reported,in,AIR(Online(2024(BOM(682(and, also,the,decision,of,the,Madras,High,Court,in,the,case,of, R.Visoliya( vs.( State( of( Tamil( Nadu( and( Others, reported, in,2017(SCC(Online( MAD( 13461., ,Hence,,he, sought,for,dismissal,of,the,writ,petition.,,

¶5Heard, the, learned, counsel, for, the, parties, and, perused,the,writ,papers.,

¶6It,is,not,in,dispute,that,respondent's,father,was, working,as,Assistant,Teacher,in,Government,school.,,He, died, on, 04.05.2017, while, in, service, leaving, behind, his, wife,, daughter, Priyanka, and, three, minor, sons., , As, per, Rule,5,of,the,Rules,,1996,,the,dependent,of,the,family,of, the, deceased, employee, has, to, file, an, application, within, one, year, from, the, date, of, death, of, the, Government, servant.,,In,case,of,minor,,he,must,have,attained,the,age, of,18,years,within,one,year,from,the,date,of,death,of,a, Government, servant, and, he, must, make, an, application, ( , ( ( within,one,year,thereafter.,The,daughter,of,the,deceased, employee, has, filed, an, application, on, 12.02.2018, within, one,year,from,the,date,of,death,of,her,father.,Even,after, two,years,of,filing,the,application,,the,petitioners,have,not, made,appointment,of,Priyanka,on,compassionate,ground., By,that,time,,she,got,married,and,the,respondent,who,is, the, son, of, the, deceased, has, to, take, care, of, the, entire, family., , Therefore,, daughter, of, the, deceased, employee, Priyanka, and, respondent, have, filed, representation, on,

16.01.2019, seeking, substitution, of, the, name, of, the, respondent, in, place, of, Priyanka., Thereafter,, the, respondent, also, filed, one, more, representation, on,

24.01.2020., , The, representation, filed, by, the, respondent, cannot,be,treated,as,a,fresh,application.,It,is,only,seeking, substitution,of,the,name.,,

¶7Similar, issue, has, arisen, before, the, Bombay, High,Court.,,The,said,issue,has,been,referred,to,the,Full, Bench., The, Full, Bench, of, the, Bombay, High, Court, in, the, case,of,Sandhya(Gajanan(Lahane,(supra),has,held,that, ( , ( ( subsequent,application,is,only,a,substitution,and,it,cannot, be,treated,as,a,fresh,application.,The,relevant,paragraphs, 22,to,27,are,extracted,hereunder,for,easy,reference:, ,"22.,In,the,above-referred,backdrop,,if,we,see,the, meaning,of,the,word,'substitution',,it,would,mean,'to, replace,with,another',or,'one,who,stands,in,another's, place',or,'the,process,by,which,one,person,takes,the, place,of,another,person'.,

23.,Thus,,it,is,evident,that,,if,a,family,member,of,the, deceased/incapacitated, employee, applies, for, substitution, of, his, name, with, another, family, member,,it,cannot,be,treated,as,a,fresh,application, or,subsequent,application,or,it,cannot,be,implied,that, more, than, one, member, is, seeking, compassionate, appointment.,

24.,The,scheme,permits,compassionate,appointment, to, one, eligible, legal, heir, of, the, deceased/incapacitated, employee, with, an, object, to, enable, the, family, to, tide, over, the, sudden, financial, crisis., In, the, circumstances,, if, substitution, is, permitted,,it,would,amount,to,replacement,of,name, by,another,name.,As,substitution,does,not,amount,to, making,of,a,fresh,application,or,staking,a,claim,by, more,than,one,legal,heir,of,the,deceased,,it,cannot, ( , ( ( be, said, that, substitution, would, run, counter, to, the, purpose,and,object,of,compassionate,appointment.,

25., From, the, purpose, and, object, of, the, compassionate, Judgment, 27, WP-3701-, 2022-FB-F1.odt,appointment,,it,is,evident,that,,some,source, of,livelihood,is,to,be,provided,to,any,one,member,of, the, family, to, make, both, ends, meet., In, case, of, substitution,,the,name,of,another,member,would,be, substituted,in,the,wait,list,in,place,of,earlier,member., In, that, eventuality, also, the, employment, will, be, provided, to, only, one, member,, as, per, policy., Therefore,,it,cannot,be,said,that,,substitution,would, defeat,the,object,of,compassionate,appointment.,

26., Furthermore,, keeping, in, mind, the, object, and, purpose, of, the, appointment, on, compassionate, ground,, that, is, to, provide, succour, to, the, family,,it, does,not,matter,whether,the,employment,is,provided, to,X,member,of,the,family,or,Y,member,of,the,family, as, long, as, the, scheme, permits, to, provide, employment,to,any,one,member,of,the,family.,If,the, substitution,is,permitted,,the,only,change,which,will, occur,is,that,the,name,of,'X',will,be,replaced,by,'Y', member,and,nothing,beyond,that.,

27.,It,is,for,the,family,to,decide,which,member,of,the, family,should,seek,the,employment,on,behalf,of,the, family.,Therefore,,a,rigid,approach,to,not,allow,any, ( , ( ( substitution, to, take, place, is, not, an, appropriate, measure,of,providing,succour,and,help,to,the,family, of, the, deceased, government, servant,, which, is, the, very,object,and,rationale,behind,the,scheme.",

¶8Similar,issue,has,been,considered,by,the,High, Court,of,Tamil,Nadu,in,R.Visoliya's,case,(supra),and,the, same,has,also,been,referred,by,the,Tribunal.,,The,Tribunal, in,its,order,at,paragraph,No.13,has,observed,as,under:,, ,"13., Now, the, question, that, arises, for, consideration,is,whether,the,application,given,by,the, applicant,subsequent,to,the,application,of,his,sister, becomes, continuous, application, or, a, separate, application., As, such,, we, have, gone, through, the, decision,of,the,Hon'ble,High,Court,of,Madras,in,the, case, of, R.( Visoliya( vs.( State( of( Tamil( Nadu( (W.P.No.186/2015( decided( on( 02.03.2017., Paras,5,&,6,are,relevant,for,our,purpose,and,they, read,as,under:, ,

5., There, is, also, one, other, feature, which, we, require, to, notice,, relating, to, who, amongst, the, surviving, members, of, the, family, should, seek, appointment, on, compassionate, basis., That, is, a, matter, of, choice,amongst,the,surviving,members,of, the,family.,However,,the,obligation,thrust, ( , ( ( upon,the,person,so,chosen,is,that,he,shall, undertake,to,look,after,the,well-being,and, welfare,of,all,the,members,of,the,family,of, the, deceased, Government, servant,, thereafter., When, once, the, choice, rests, with,the,family,members,,may,be,,initially, a, particular, member, may, have, opted, or, chosen,to,shoulder,all,the,responsibilities, of,the,family.,But,if,the,appointment,is,not, forthcoming,immediately,in,favour,of,such, a,chosen,person,,there,can,be,a,change,in, the, consideration, of, the, factors, relevant, for, securing, appointment, by, the, family, members.,For,instance,,if,there,is,a,grown, up, female, child, in, the, family, and, if, that, female, child, has, attained, the, necessary, age,of,atleast,18,years,to,render,herself, eligible, for, seeking, appointment,, in, the, meantime,, the, claims, of, such, a, female, child,can,be,requested,to,be,considered,in, place,of,the,earlier,chose,person.,For,that,, the,already,distressed,family,may,consider, that, it, would, be, more, appropriate, and, suitable,to,ask,for,appointment,in,favour, of,a,female,child,in,the,family,rather,than, a, male, child, for, getting, the, female, child, married, thereafter, might, become, convenient,and,easy.,It,is,the,obligation,of, the, family, to, get, the, daughter, married., But, if, the, daughter, was, to, be, employed, ( , ( ( with,the,Government,,the,prospects,of,her, getting, married, in, quick, time, may, brighten, up., Therefore,, so, long, as, no, other,family,member,is,employed,and,the, family,has,not,yet,got,over,the,difficulties, created, by, the, sudden, departure, of, the,breadwinner,,in,such,circumstances,,in, our,opinion,,appropriate,substitution,of,an, earlier, application, by, another, member, of, the, family,, is, to, be, allowed., Take, for, instance,,if,the,male,member,in,the,family, who, is, beyond, 18, years, of, age, is, in, the, first,year,or,second,year,of,an,Engineering, course,in,the,immediate,aftermath,of,the, death, of, the, Government, and, the, family, may, have, considered, it, difficult, for, allowing, him, to, complete, the, rest, of, the, course., But, if, such, a, member, is, not, appointed, immediately, and, time, passes, by,,he,may,have,reached,in,his,academic, career, a, particular, stage, where, pursuing, further, the, said, academic, course, is, far, more,important,and,it,would,outweigh,the, compulsion, of, securing, employment, for, himself, and, consequently,, the, family, members,may,have,preferred,to,allow,the, said,male,member,to,complete,the,course, of, study, which, he, was, pursuing, and, instead, seek, employment, in, favour, of, a, female,child,in,the,family,,who,has,in,the, ( , ( ( meantime,, attained, the, minimum, age, of, 18, years, required, for, consideration, for, such, appointment., Therefore,, it, is, not, necessary, for, the, family, of, the,deceased, Government,servant,to,seek,employment, only,in,favour,of,the,eldest,male,or,female, member, of, the, deceased, Government, servant., It, may, be, some, cases, turn, out, that, the, eldest, child, of, the, deceased, Government, servant, may, not, be, maintaining, a, good, health, condition, as, well,or,he,may,be,having,any,other,special, disadvantage,, which, can, effectively, prevent, him, from, taking, the, public, employment., In, these, given, set, of, circumstances,, the,choice, to, seek, employment,in,favour,of,one,other,family, member,lies,with,that,of,the,family,and,no, such, restriction, or, impediment, can, be, created, by, insisting, the, eldest, amongst, the, surviving, family, members, of, the, deceased, Government, servant, alone,, should, seek, employment., We, are, of, the, firm,opinion,that,the,choice,should,be,left, to, the, surviving, family, members, of, the, deceased, Government, servant, and, no, rigid,approach,in,that,regard,is,desirable, to,be,adopted., , ( , ( (

6., , Similarly,, even, if, an, application, is, made, seeking, employment, in, favour, of, one, particular, member, of, the, family,, before,any,such,appointment,is,made,,the, applicant,can,be,allowed,to,be,substituted, with,that,of,any,other,family,member,as, well.,,It,is,for,the,family,of,the,deceased, Government,servant,to,choose,and,a,rigid, approach,not,to,allow,any,substitution,to, take,place,is,not,an,appropriate,measure, of,providing,succor,and,held,to,the,family, of, the, deceased, Government, servant,, which, is, the, very, objective, and, rationale, behind, the, scheme., , There, can, be, imponderable,factors,as,to,why,an,earlier, application, may, not, be,pursued., , Hence,, we,are,of,the,opinion,that,the,rejection,of, the,proposal,by,the,State,Government,to, regularize,the,service,of,the,writ,petitioner, only, on, the, ground, that, the, earlier, application, is, not, pursued, but, substitute, application,is,considered,,may,not,be,most, appropriate,and,is,also,not,justified.,,If,the, application,submitted,by,one,of,the,family, members,has,already,resulted,in,an,order, of, appointment, in, favour, of, such, an, applicant,, at, that, stage,, perhaps, substitution, may, not, be, warranted, or, entertained, but, like, in, the, instant, case,, where, the, application, made, by, one, ( , ( ( member, of, the, family, seeking, appointment, on, compassionate, basis, is, still, pending, consideration,, any, such, subsequent, application, in, place, of, the, former,one,duly,obtained,with,the,consent, of,the,earlier/former,applicant,is,liable,to, be,treated,as,one,of,substitution,but,not, be,treated,as,a,subsequent,application,or, a,fresh,application,or,a,case,of,the,family, making,multiple,applications.",

¶9Considering, the, above, decisions, and, applying, the,principle,to,the,case,on,hand,,the,employee,died,on,

04.05.2017., The,application,filed,by, the,daughter,of, the, deceased, employee, on, 12.02.2018, is, within, the, time, prescribed,under,Rule,5,of,the,Rules,,1996.,When,she,filed, the,application,,she,was,unmarried,and,when,application, was, under, process, for, appointment, on, compassionate, ground,, she, got, married., Since, the, responsibilities, of, taking, care, of, the, family, of, the, deceased, is, on, the, respondent,, therefore,, daughter-Priyanka, and, the, respondent, have, filed, the, representations, seeking, for, substitution, of, name, of, the, respondent, in, place, of, ( , ( ( Priyanka,, and, therefore,, it, cannot, be, treated, as, fresh, application., , Considering, this, aspect, of, the, matter,, the, Tribunal, has, rightly, allowed, the, application, filed, by, the, respondent,herein.,Therefore,we,find,no,error,or,illegality, in, the, order, passed, by, the, Tribunal., , Hence,, the, writ, petition,is,devoid,of,merit,and,is,liable,to,be,dismissed.,

¶10Accordingly,,the,Writ,Petition,is,dismissed.,

¶11The,petitioners,are,directed,to,comply,with,the, order,passed,by,the,Tribunal,within,three,months,from,the, date,of,receipt,of,copy,of,this,order., ,, Sd/-( (H.T.NARENDRA(PRASAD)( JUDGE( ( ( Sd/-( (TYAGARAJA(N.(INAVALLY)( JUDGE( ( , SMP,VNR, List,No.:,1,Sl,No.:,48, ,