Married Daughter Living In Matrimonial Home Can't Seek Compassionate Appointment After Her Father's Death: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court has upheld an order which had held that a married daughter living in her husband's home cannot seek compassionate appointment on the ground of her father's death.
In doing do the court said that compassionate appointment aims to provide 'immediate financial distress' to a 'family in crisis' following the death of an employee.
The court was hearing a woman's appeal seeking compassionate appointment after father's death. Her writ petition had been rejected by the single judge who had held that appellant was not entitled for appointment on compassionate ground as she was a married daughter and had not made out grounds for appointment on compassionate ground.
The Division Bench of Justices B.M. Shyam Prasad and Justice Shivashankar Amarannavar at the Dharwad Bench noted that compassionate appointment cannot be claimed as a 'matter of right' or 'inheritance', specifically not by a 'married daughter' living in her husband's home.
“The essence of compassionate appointment lies in addressing the immediate financial distress experienced by the family in the aftermath of the employee's demise. The term dependent within the context of compassionate appointment denotes family members who were reliant on the deceased employee for financial support…”, the division bench noted in its order from last week.
The appellant, Smt. Laxmi, a 42-year-old daughter of a deceased attender in the Belagavi District Court, had challenged the dismissal of her writ petition for compassionate appointment by a single-judge bench.
The Division Bench also added that the single judge bench was right in pointing out that the prolonged delay in addressing the appellant -daughter's request could have resulted in a change of circumstances.
“…During this extended period, the financial circumstances and needs of the petitioner's family may have undergone significant changes…if the petitioner's family has been self-sufficient and able to maintain themselves without facing significant financial constraints since the demise of the deceased employee, they may not be considered eligible for compassionate appointment..”, the single judge bench had noted on merits in its order about the lapse of time since the death of the attender-father.
It is pertinent to note here that the appellant- daughter had suppressed a rejection of her representation before the Registrar General of the High Court for compassionate appointment. The reason for rejection in 2007 was that she was a married daughter residing with her husband's family at the time of application. The Registrar General noted this to be in contravention of Rule 3 of Karnataka Civil Services (Appointment on Compassionate Grounds) Rules.
The appellant-daughter had suppressed this material fact even before the High Court when she filed the original writ petition (Writ Petition No.6430/2008). Initially, the court had given her liberty to file a fresh representation, not knowing that her first application was rejected in 2007.
In 2016, her new application before the District & Sessions Judge was rejected again. When she submitted her grievance before the writ court, the single bench rejected her petition. Along with the prolonged lapse of time, the court also noted that she had not made out a case for compassionate appointment since she is a 'married daughter' residing in her matrimonial home.
The single judge bench had also reproduced the below excerpt from the Karnataka High Court's decision in Mrs. Megha.J. v. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) & Anr. (2023) to further elucidate this point. In this judgment a division bench of the high court had held:
“…Learned Single Judge has rightly relied upon the Apex Court decision in State of Maharashtra vs. Madhuri Maruti Vidhate AIR 2022 SC 5176 to the effect that a married daughter residing in the matrimonial home ordinarily cannot be treated as a dependent on her father. Our scriptures injunct "bharta rakshati yavvane... literally meaning that it is the duty of husband to provide maintenance to his dependent wife. That is how our legislations too are structured…”.
Upholding the above reasoning given by the single judge bench, the Division Bench has dismissed the writ appeal filed by Ms Laxmi.
Case Title: Smt. Laxmi Nagappa Kittur v. The Registrar General & Ors.
Case No: WA No. 100548 of 2024
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Kar)