CHIEF ENGINEER (ESTABLISHMENT), TAMIL NADU ELECTRICITY BOARD Vs. D. P. FRANCY DIANA, ADOPTED DAUGHTER OF LATE T. SOBANA BAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) T.Sobana Bai was etstwhile employee in Kanyakumari Electricity Distribution Division as Junior Assistant in the office of the Divisional Executive Engineer, Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, Thuckalai, Kanyakumari District, died as spinster on 28/1/2007. The respondent viz., Francy Diana made a claim for the death cum retirement benefits of the said Sobana Bai, on the strength of the Civil Court decree, wherein she has been declared as adopted daughter of the deceased Sobana Bai. The electricity Board considered her request and disbursed all the death cum retirement benefits accured. However, when the said Francy Diana sought for compassionate appointment under the schme available in the Electricity Board and the same was rejected by the second respondent, vide communication dtd. 11/12/2008, stating that under the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board Rules only the adopted children of Hindu can be considered as legal representative and not the persons of other religions. The first respondent, vide his letter dtd. 15/12/2008, rejected the application for compassionate appointment stating that in the official record of the deceased employee ie., Sobana Bai, there is no entry to indicate the writ petitioner as her adopted daughter. These two communications were subject matter of the writ petition in W.P(MD)No.5310 of 2012 wherein the said Francy Diana sought for issuance of certiorarified Mandamus to quash both the communications and considered her application dtd. 12/11/2008 for compassionate appointment. This Writ Petition was pending consideration by the learned Single Judge of this Court for quite some time and on 15/2/2017, the writ petition was allowed with the following directions:

(2.) The Electricity Board, being aggrieved by the above directions, has preferred the intra-court appeal, on the ground that the decree passed in O.S.No. 114 of 2017 declaring the writ petitioner as the adopted daughter of Sobana Bai will not bind them, since it is a collusive suit between the interested parties and the appellant, who is a necessary party was not impleaded. The succession certificate being a summory proceedings, the retirement benefits of Sobana Bai was disbursed based on the ground of succession certificate in S.O.P.No.36 of 2007. Futher, it is contended by the appellant that the compassionate appointment cannot be claimed as a matter of right beyond the scheme in force. Therefore, the order of the learned Single Judge directing the Board to consider the application for appointment on compassionate ground objectively and appoint her within six weeks is legally unsustainable.

(3.) The learned counsel appearing for the appellant relying upon the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in State of Chhatisgarh & Others-Vs- Dhirjo Kumar Sengar(Civil Appeal No.3242 of 2009), submitted that the grant of succession certificate in favour of person per se is not a proof of any relationship between the deceased and the applicant and therefore, the order of the learned Single Judge, taking into consideration of the disbursement of retirement benefits to the writ petitioner based on the succession certificate, ought not to have directed the Board to consider the application for compassionate appointment objectively within time frame.