* THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE V.ESWARAIAH AND *THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SAMUDRALA GOVINDARAJULU +W.P.No.18661 of 2009 % 21.12.2009 # State of Andhra Pradesh rep. by its Secretary to the Government, Finance (FP) Administration-III Department, Secretariat Buildings, Hyderabad and others ... PETITIONER(S) Vs. $ Kum A.Sita Mahalakshmi ... RESPONDENT(S) <GIST: >HEAD NOTE: ! Counsel for Petitioners : Govt. Pleader for Services II ^ Counsel for Respondent : Sri Ramakrishna Annavajjula ?CASES REFERRED : Nil. IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD MONDAY, THIS THE 21st DAY OF DECEMBER, 2009 W.P.No.18661 of 2009 BETWEEN: State of Andhra Pradesh rep. by its Secretary to the Government, Finance (FP) Administration-III Department, Secretariat Buildings, Hyderabad and others ….PETITIONER(S) and Kum A.Sita Mahalakshmi …RESPONDENT(S) THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE V.ESWARAIAH AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SAMUDRALA GOVINDARAJULU W.P.No.18661 of 2009 ORDER:(Per HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE V.ESWARAIAH) Aggrieved by the order of the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal in O.A.No.6120 of 2005 dated 06.11.2008, the State filed this writ petition. Respondent filed the said O.A. seeking to consider her case for compassionate appointment, by setting aside the Memo No.3824/629/A1/ Admn.III/04, Finance (Admn.III) Department, dated 14.12.2004, and the same was allowed. It was the case of respondent that she is the daughter of late A. Jagan Mohan Rao, who died in harness, on 27.02.1999, while working as Mandal Revenue Officer and so her younger brother Sri A.V.R.K.Sharma was given compassionate appointment in June 1999. To the misfortune of the respondent, her brother Sri A.V.R.K.Sharma also died in a road accident while returning from office, on 12.11.2003. The respondent’s mother made an application for consideration of the respondent’s case for appointment on compassionate grounds in February 2004 within the stipulated time as per G.O.Ms.No.687, G.A. (Ser.A) Department, dated 03.10.1977, i.e. within one year. It is her case that she is a post graduate in M.Com., and is eligible for appointment to any post on compassionate grounds. But her case was rejected by the Government vide Memo No.3824/629/ A1/Admn.III/04, Finance (Admn.III) Department, dated 14.12.2004, on the ground that as per the orders of Government in G.O.Ms.No.612 G.A. (Ser.A) Department dated 30.10.1991, if the deceased employee remains unmarried, only the younger brother/sister of such employee is entitled to be considered for compassionate appointment and that there is no provision for compassionate appointment to the elder sister. It is further stated therein that as per the orders in G.O.Ms.No.400 G.A. (Ser.A) Department dated 12.09.1996, no application for relaxation of any of the conditions stipulated under the scheme is entertained by the Government. Aggrieved by the said memo, the respondent filed the said O.A. The undisputed facts of the case are that the deceased employee is the brother of respondent and the deceased died in harness on 12.11.2003 in a road accident while working as Junior Accountant in the office of the Sub Treasury Officer, Polavaram, West Godavari District, and that the respondent’s mother made an application within the stipulated time under the scheme for compassionate appointment and that there are no other legal heirs in the family, except the respondent’s mother and the respondent who is unmarried sister of the deceased. It is stated that the mother of the deceased employee is aged more than 50 years and she is not eligible for compassionate appointment and so she only requested for providing appointment to the respondent on compassionate grounds. There is no dispute that the respondent being the unmarried elder sister of the deceased employee and dependent on the deceased employee. There is also no dispute with regard to the existence of the scheme for compassionate appointment. But the dispute is with regard to the eligibility and entitlement of the respondent on such grounds inasmuch as she being the elder sister of the deceased employee. She being the elder unmarried sister of the deceased employee, the Tribunal considered that if the respondent is denied the compassionate appointment, the family of the deceased employee will be deprived of the benefit of the scheme for providing compassionate appointment and it amounts to discrimination. Therefore, the action of the Government in rejecting the request of the respondent by interpreting the G.O.Ms.No.612 dated 30.10.1991 as illegal and unsustainable and it is further held that there is no any need to relax the conditions as is said in G.O.Ms.No.400 dated 12.09.1996, but only it is the case of wrong interpretation of the order of the Government in G.O.Ms.No.612 dated 30.10.1991. The Tribunal, therefore, by order dated 06.11.2008 allowed the O.A., setting aside the Memo No.3824/629/A1/ Admn.III/04, Finance (Admn.III) Department, dated 14.12.2004 whereby the case of the respondent for consideration to the compassionate appointment was rejected, by holding that the respondent is entitled for compassionate appointment. We have heard the learned Government Pleader appearing for the petitioners and the learned counsel for respondent. Para-2(i) of G.O.Ms.No.612 dated 30.10.1991 reads as follows. “The younger brother/ sister of the deceased Government servant who remained unmarried can be considered for appointment under the scheme provided there is no other earning member in the family. The cases, which came up for consideration earlier, need not be reopened.” It is the case of the Government that as per the aforesaid orders, when an unmarried elder brother of a deceased Government employee is not entitled for compassionate appointment, the respondent, being the unmarried elder sister of a deceased Government servant, is not entitled for compassionate appointment. Here, the contention of the learned counsel appearing for the respondent is that the term ‘younger’ is relatable to the ‘brother’ only but not the ‘sister’. If the elder sister of a deceased Government servant is unmarried and dependent on him and their mother, it cannot be said that the elder sister is not entitled to be considered for compassionate appointment. Further, the said controversy is clarified by the Government itself vide orders in G.O.Ms.No.350 General Administration (Ser.A) Department dated 30.07.1999 which reads as under. As per para-4 thereof, when there is only a married daughter to the deceased Government employee without older or younger brothers or sisters and the spouse of the deceased Government employee is not willing to avail the compassionate appointment, such married daughter may be considered for compassionate appointment, provided she is dependent on the deceased Government employee and subject to satisfying, the other conditions and instructions issued on the scheme from time to time. When a married dependent daughter of the deceased Government employee, in the absence of any other older or younger brothers or sisters and spouse of the deceased Government employee entitled and ready to avail the compassionate appointment, is also entitled for the compassionate appointment, we are unable to accept the contention of the learned Government Pleader that the unmarried elder sister of the deceased Government employee is not entitled for such compassionate appointment. Only the mother and elder sister of the deceased employee are surviving in the family. The mother of the deceased employee made an application to consider the case of her daughter i.e. the unmarried elder sister of the deceased for compassionate appointment. It is also not a case where there is a need for relaxation of rules to provide compassionate appointment to the respondent and the orders of Government in G.O.Ms.No.400 G.A. (Ser.A) Department dated 12.09.1996 are not applicable to the instant case in view of the orders in G.O.Ms.No.350 General Administration (Ser.A) Department dated 30.07.1999 which is later to the aforesaid two G.Os. Therefore, we are not inclined to interfere with the order of the Tribunal on any ground and the writ petition is devoid of merits. The writ petition is accordingly dismissed. However, at the request of the learned Government Pleader for Services and having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, we extend the time granted by the Tribunal to consider the case of the respondent for compassionate appointment irrespective of the fact that she is the elder sister of the deceased employee, by eight weeks from today. There shall be no order as to costs. __________________ V.ESWARAIAH, J ___________________________________ SAMUDRALA GOVINDARAJULU, J 21st December 2009 CVRK Note: L.R.Copy to be marked. B/o CVRK