Married Daughters Cannot Be Excluded from Family for Compassionate Appointment

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has ruled that married daughters cannot be excluded from the definition of “family” when considering compassionate appointment. The Court also said that family income must be calculated by including them.

Petitioner’s father, late Sh. Shyam Prakash, was serving as Junior Basic Trained Teacher in the respondent-Education Department. He died in harness on 06.04.2012. Besides his wife, he was survived by three married daughters. Petitioner applied for employment on compassionate grounds during the year 2018. Respondents rejected her claim on 12.11.2018 on the ground that there was no provision for employment on compassionate grounds for a married daughter.

Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua, said: “Simply because the daughter is married, this does not mean she loses her identity as a member of her father’s family.” The Court held that the annual family income of the deceased must be assessed by considering the family size as four members, not two.

The petitioner’s request was rejected on the grounds that the policy did not provide compassionate appointments to married daughters. She challenged this decision by relying on Mamta Devi v. State of H.P. (2020), where the Court had recognized the right of married daughters to be considered for such appointments. Following this, the High Court directed the State government to reconsider her case.

However, when her case was reviewed again, it was rejected once more, this time on the ground that the family income was above the prescribed limit. While calculating the income, the authorities treated the family as consisting of only two members (the mother and one daughter), excluding the married daughters.

The Court disagreed with this approach and concluded that the family should be considered as having four members, including the married daughters. Based on the 2019 policy, the Court noted that the family income did not exceed the prescribed limit. Therefore, the petitioner’s claim for compassionate appointment must be reconsidered.

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