IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Letters Patent Appeal No.1306 of 2010 In (CIVIL WRIT JURISDICTION CASE 564/2007) 1. Smt. Ram Kumari Devi, W/O Late Sri Devendra Singh, R/O Daudpur, East of M.I.T. Workshop, P.O.- M.I.T. Brahmpura, P.S.- Brahmpura, Distt.- Muzaffarpur………….Appellant. Versus 1. The State Of Bihar 2. Chief Secretary, Government Of Bihar, Old Secretariat, P.S.- Patna Secretariat, Distt.- Patna 3. D.G. Police, Bihar, Patna, Old Secretariat 4. I.G. Railway, Old Secretariat, P.S.- Secretariat, Patna 5.I.G. Kalyan (Welfare), Patna, Old Secretariat, P.S.- Secretariat, Distt.- Patna 6. Home Secretary, Government Of Bihar, Old Secretariat, P.S.- Secretariat, Distt.- Patna ………………………Respondents. For the Appellant : Mr. S.P.Mukherjee, Sr. Advocate Mr. Shanti Pratap, Advocate. Mr. Arvind Kumar Varma, Advocate ---------------------------------- 4. 21.12.2011 Heard learned counsel for the appellant. By the order under appeal the Writ Court has noted that husband of the appellant/writ-petitioner died as Sub-Inspector of Police on 9.3.1974. The Writ Court did not find merit in the writ application filed for compassionate appointment after 33 years of death of the concerned employee. From the submissions it appears that in 2006 the authorities have communicated that the scheme for grant of compassionate appointment was itself introduced in the year 1975 and hence the benefit of such scheme 2 cannot be extended in the present case because the employee died in the year 1974 when the scheme was not in force. The law has already been settled by the judgments of this Court and the Apex Court that compassionate appointment is in the nature an exception to the general law relating to appointment to public offices which must be governed by Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. Such an exception is accepted on account of emergent need of a family in stress on account of death of bread earner.Now when 37 years have elapsed since the death of the employees it will not be possible for this Court to issue any direction, specially when there was no scheme for compassionate appointment when the employee died in service. For the said reason, we are unable to grant relief to the appellant. The appeal is, therefore, dismissed. Mkc/ (Shiva Kirti Singh, J.) (Shivaji Pandey, J.)