IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P.N.RAVINDRAN TUESDAY, THE 2ND JUNE 2009 / 12TH JYAISHTA 1931 WP(C).No. 34039 of 2008(B) --------------------------------------- PETITIONER: ------------------- D.SREEKUMAR, T.C. 20/1556 (1), LAKSHMI VIHAR, SASTHRI NAGAR, KARAMANA, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. BY ADVS. MR.P.C.SASIDHARAN, MR.E.S.ASHRAF. RESPONDENTS: ------------------------ 1. SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT, AGRICULTURE (EB), DEPARTMENT, SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. 2. THE DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE, DIRECTORATE OF AGRICULTURE, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. 3. THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE, OFFICE OF THE PESTICIDES TESTING LABORATORY, PAROTTUKONAM, NALANCHIRA,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. R1 TO R3 BY SR.GOVT. PLEADER SMT. ANU SIVARAMAN. THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 02/06/2009,THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: W.P.(C). NO.34039/2008-B: APPENDIX PETITIONERS' EXHIBITS: EXT.P.1: COPY OF THE APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY THE PETITIONER ALONG WITH CONSENT LETTER AND INCOME CERTIFICATE. EXT.P.2: COPY OF THE COMMUNICATION ISSUED BY THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE DTD. 28/05/2008. EXT.P.3: COPY OF THE COMMUNICATION DTD. 18/08/2008 ISSUED BY THE R.1. EXT.P.4: COPY OF THE G.O.(P) NO. 12/99/P&ARD DTD. 24/05/1999. EXT.P.5: COPY OF THE JUDGMENT IN W.P.(C).NO.31863/2008. RESPONDENTS' EXHIBITS: NIL. //TRUE COPY// P.A. TO JUDGE. Prv. P.N.RAVINDRAN, J. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= W.P.(C) No. 34039 of 2008 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Dated this the 2nd day of June, 2009 JUDGMENT Heard Sri. P.C. Sasidharan, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Smt. Anu Sivaraman, the learned Government Pleader appearing for the respondents. 2. The petitioner’s mother was a Part Time Sweeper in the office of the third respondent. She died while in service on 3-8-2007. The petitioner thereupon moved the Government seeking employment under the Compassionate Employment Scheme. A copy of the said application is produced as Ext.P1. The said application was rejected on the ground that being the married daughter of the deceased employee, the petitioner cannot claim appointment under the Dying-in-harness Scheme. Exts.P2 and P3 communications issued in that regard by the Deputy Director of Agrilulture and the Government are under challenge in this writ petition. 3. It is now well settled by a series of decisions of this WPC 34039/08 2 Court including the Division Bench decisions of this Court in Rev. Mother, Delphine Mary V. State of Kerala (2002(1) KLT 137) and St. Ignatius High School V. State of Kerala (2005 (3) KLT 1000) that married sons/daughters cannot be denied employment under the Compassionate Employment Scheme, if they were dependent on the deceased employee. It was held that though marriage may change the status of the son or daughter of the employee, they may continue to be dependent on the employee. 4. In the instant case, the application submitted by the petitioner for compassionate appointment under the Dying-in- harness Scheme has been rejected on the short ground that, as a married son of the deceased employee, he cannot seek employment assistance under the Compassionate Employment Scheme. In the light of the authoritative pronouncements of this Court in the aforesaid decisions, the decision taken by respondents 1 and 2 and communicated to the petitioner in Exts. P2 and P3 cannot be sustained. In the result, Exts.P2 and P3 are quashed and the respondents are directed to re-consider the application WPC 34039/08 3 submitted by the petitioner, after examining whether he was dependent on his mother at the time of her death. Final orders in the matter shall be passed, in the light of the principles laid down by this Court in the aforesaid decisions, within a period of four months from the date of receipt of certified copy of this judgment. The writ petition is disposed of as above. P.N.RAVINDRAN, JUDGE. mn