Cuttack, Jun 23: In a significant judgment, the Orissa High Court on Tuesday ruled that a married daughter cannot be denied compassionate appointment solely on the ground of her marital status.
A married daughter deserves a compassionate appointment in lieu of her father or mother in case one dies during the tenure of the job ,serving as a government servant.
Hearing a petition filed by one Gouri Jena, a bench of the Orissa High court held that marriage does not render a person ineligible for compassionate appointment and that denying such employment to a daughter merely because she is married, violates the constitutional guarantee of equality.
In the landmark judgment, the bench observed that the right to marry a person of one's choice is an inherent part of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty for both men and women. Therefore, a daughter cannot be deprived of compassionate appointment simply because she has entered into marriage.
The court further noted that describing a married daughter as ineligible for compassionate employment is contrary to constitutional principles and amounts to discrimination.
The High Court pointed out that a married daughter may continue to bear responsibility for the care and support of her parental family. If a married son is considered eligible for compassionate appointment following the death of his parents, who were government employees, denying the same benefit to a married daughter would violate the constitutional right to equality.
With it, the court set aside a July 28, 2016, government instruction under which the petitioner’s application for compassionate appointment had been rejected solely because she was married.
The bench directed the Odisha government to reconsider the petitioner’s claim and take a fresh decision within two months time.
The revolutionary judgment was delivered by a bench headed by Justice Biraja Prasanna Satapathy. It is going to be a sigh of relief for thousands of married women who have been waiting for compassionate appointments under the rehabilitation scheme of the Odisha Government following untimely demise of their parents during their tenure in government jobs.
