MAMTA DEVI Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, by way of the extant writ petition, is seeking the following substantive reliefs:

(2.) Succinctly, the facts, emanating from the extant writ petition, are that on 08.05.2019, Shri Thakur Dass, father of the petitioner, who was a Class IV employee in the office of District Ayurvedic Office, Kullu, died in harness. It is further contended that the petitioner, her sister and mother are the survivors of Shri Thakur Dass and there is no male member in their family. As per the petitioner, she, her mother and sister, were dependant on late Shri Thakur Dass, and her mother and sister are unwilling to opt employment. The petitioner, who is M.A. (Hindi) and has diploma in Computers, applied on compassionate grounds and application for compassionate appointment was duly supported with the affidavits of her mother and sister purveying their 'No Objection'. Total annual family income of the petitioner's family is Rs. 63,000/- and to this effect the petitioner has annexed latest income certificate issued by the competent authority. It is averred that as per the Policy for providing Compassionate Employment, which is in vogue, ceiling of family income is Rs. 2,25,000/- for a family of four members, thus the income of the family of the petitioner is well under the ceiling. It is further averred that on 22.06.2020, application of the petitioner was rejected on the anvil that "there is no provision in the Policy for grant of employment assistance to married daughter of the deceased Government employee."

(3.) The petitioner, concisely, is seeking a direction of this Court to quash clause (2) of the above policy, which is extracted hereunder for ready reference, being discriminatory and unconstitutional: