Patna: The Patna high court has ruled that a son born to the second wife of a deceased government employee cannot be denied consideration for compassionate appointment solely on the ground that the second marriage lacked official sanction.
In a significant judgment, a division bench comprising Justice Sudhir Singh and Justice Rajesh Kumar Verma set aside an earlier order of a single bench and directed the authorities to decide the appellant’s application on its merits within three months.
The order came while hearing a Letters Patent Appeal (LPA) filed by Ravi Kumar Ranjan, the son of the employee’s second wife.
The case relates to an employee of the irrigation department who had married twice during his lifetime. Following his death, sons from both marriages applied for compassionate appointment under the applicable service rules.
Departmental authorities rejected the application of the second wife’s son, citing rules that treat a second marriage without prior government permission as invalid for service-related benefits. They held that the son born of such a marriage was not eligible for appointment on compassionate grounds.
The matter was initially dismissed by a single bench, which relied on a circular issued by the department of personnel and administrative reforms and directed that the application of the first wife’s son be processed in accordance with the rules.
However, the division bench overturned that decision, holding that the claim of the second wife’s son could not be rejected outright on that basis. The court remitted the matter back to the administration for fresh consideration and instructed that a final decision be taken within three months.
The ruling is being viewed as an important clarification on the rights of dependants in compassionate appointment cases, particularly in situations involving family disputes or multiple marriages.
