PREM NARAYAN Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Article 16 of the Constitution of India provides for equality of opportunity for all citizensin matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State and prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them except in cases falling in exceptions enumerated under Clauses (3) and (5) of the Article. Any preferential right to appointment to the person or class of persons born to particular parents would, thus strictly speaking, be contrary to the Constitutional mandate of Article 16. Appointment of dependent member of Government servants dying in harness on compassionate ground has nevertheless been upheld by this Court in Bijoy Kumar Singh v. The State of Bihar 1991 (1) PLJR 316 stating:

(2.) Having regard to the nature of appointment and the object underlying it, there cannot be any doubt that compassionate appointment is to be made at the earliest otherwise not only the object would be frustrated but the very reason or the basis on which such appointment has been upheld will itself disappear exposing the same to challenge as being violative of Article 16 of the Constitution. It would be apt in this connection to quote the observations of the Supreme Court in Smt. Sushma Gosain and Ors. v. Union of India (1990-I-LLJ-169) as hereunder:

(3.) In the instant writ petitions, the Government servants concerned died in harness on different dates in 1987, 1988 and 1992. The claim of the petitioners for compassionate appointment has, however, been kept in abeyance on the ground of non-availability of post. The observations of the Supreme Court in Smt. Sushma Gosain (supra) regarding creation of supernumerary post to accommodate the applicant have since been somewhat diluted in the subsequent judgments of the Supreme Court. It is, therefore, not possible to issue any such direction in favour of the petitioners.