Jaipur News: Rajasthan High Court has given an important order in a case related to compassionate appointment. The court has directed Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (AVVNL) to deduct 25 percent of the amount from the monthly salary of the wife of the deceased employee i.e. daughter-in-law and deposit it in the bank account of his mother-in-law. This amount will continue to be given till the mother-in-law is alive. A single bench of Justice Anand Sharma gave this order while hearing the petition filed by the mother-in-law and father-in-law. The father-in-law had died during the hearing of the case.
Son died in 2017
The matter is related to an employee working as a technical helper in AVVNL. The employee died in March 2017. After this, the process of giving job to his wife on compassionate grounds started. It was told in the court that the daughter-in-law was given compassionate appointment after getting the consent of her mother-in-law and father-in-law i.e. NOC. At the time of getting the job, the daughter-in-law had also given an affidavit. In this he had talked about taking care of other family members and taking care of their maintenance.
Allegation of leaving in-laws after getting job
The mother-in-law and father-in-law alleged that the daughter-in-law left her in-laws’ house some time after getting the job. After this, she got married again and stopped taking care of her in-laws and helping them financially. Regarding this, the mother-in-law and father-in-law had approached the Rajasthan High Court in the year 2018. He had sought relief from the court considering the grounds of his daughter-in-law’s compassionate appointment and the responsibilities related to the maintenance of the family.
Court said- Compassionate appointment is not a privilege
During the hearing, the court said that compassionate appointment is not a personal right or privilege of any person. This is a welfare system given to the family to get them out of financial crisis. The court accepted that the affidavit given by the daughter-in-law regarding the care and maintenance of the family was an important basis in the matter of her appointment. In such a situation, stepping back from that responsibility after getting a job is against the basic spirit of the Compassionate Appointment Scheme.
Daughter-in-law said- other sons can also take care of mother
On behalf of the daughter-in-law, it was argued in the court that she had left the house due to ill-treatment at her in-laws’ house. It was also said that the father-in-law had already died and the mother-in-law could be taken care of by her two other sons. It was also argued on behalf of the daughter-in-law that the salary she received was her job salary. This is not any amount received in return for the services of her late husband. Therefore, she should not be forced to share part of her salary with her mother-in-law.
25 percent of the salary will go to mother-in-law’s account
After hearing the arguments of both the parties, the High Court directed AVVNL to deduct 25 percent of the amount from the daughter-in-law’s monthly salary and deposit it directly into the mother-in-law’s bank account. The court clarified that this arrangement will continue as long as the mother-in-law is alive.
Order to distribute terminal benefits equally
The court has also directed to release all the terminal benefits related to the deceased employee. AVVNL will have to release these benefits within 30 days. According to the court order, these terminal benefits will be divided equally between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. In this decision, the court has seen compassionate appointment not only as a means of getting a job, but also as a system to provide financial support to the family.
