O.P. SHEEJA Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) O.P. Sheeja, a widow, has been claiming, for the last two decades, compassionate appointment because her husband died in harness. The scheme of compassionate appointment for the defence personnel provides for the appointment by two sources: by the State Government and by the Central Government. The State Government, on more than one occasion, rejected Sheeja's application; the Central Government, on the other hand, invited Sheeja twice, to apply for a post. But the widow did not. It seems, in all these two decades, she has been pinning her hopes on getting employment in the State Government, in Kerala. Do her hopes bear fruit

(2.) The facts in brief are that, in 1998, Sheeja's husband was working as a Constable in 39 Battalions of the BSF. While the unit he was attached to was stationed at Amarkot, Punjab, it was proposed to be shifted to Jeruz, Jammu and Kashmir. On their way to Jeruz from Amarkot, on 16.05.1998, the unit camped by Tawi river at Udhampur.

(3.) On that fateful day, 16.05.1998, Sheeja's husband got drowned in the river while he was taking a bath. His body could be fished out after a couple of days and had been cremated there itself. Sheeja, in 1999, in her early 20s with a child of two years, applied to the State Government for a compassionate appointment. The Government rejected. But she followed up the matter again the next year. This time, the State Government required her to produce a certificate from the Military authority that her husband had died in combat.