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The Madras High Court has come to the rescue of an indigent married woman by directing the Tamil Nadu government to provide her a suitable job under compassionate grounds within four weeks. One Dhandapani, who while serving as an office assistant in the Panchayat Union Primary School at Karunguzhi in Cuddalore district, died in March 2000. He had four daughters and V Sundari was his third child.
After obtaining permission from the other legal heirs (her mother and three sisters), she applied for a job on compassionate grounds in December 2001 within the prescribed time. It was kept in cold storage till August 2015, when it was rejected. Hence, the present petition. The Special Government Pleader submitted that the petitioner's elder and younger sisters (all three) were married and their spouses were working in government departments.
The petitioner herself also got married in 2004 and her husband is also in government service. Hence, it could not be claimed that her family was in an indigent condition and the term 'compassion' would not apply in this case. Rejecting the submissions, Justice M S Ramesh pointed out that the petitioner's father died in March 2000 and she applied within the stipulated time. At that point of time, she was not married. As there was an inordinate delay, she later got married in August 2004.
Hence, the authorities might not be justified in quoting the petitioner's marriage as an impediment. Her husband is also in government service in the last grade, that too, on a temporary basis. Therefore, this also could not be a ground for rejection. Furthermore, the reference to the employment of the petitioner's sisters' husbands in government departments is also not justifiable.
The petitioner is to be deemed to be in an indigent condition and therefore, entitled to be given a job on compassionate grounds, the judge said and allowed the petition. He set aside the 2015 rejection order and directed the School Education department to provide a suitable job to the petitioner within four weeks.
-With PTI Input
