Married Daughter Cannot Be Excluded From Compassionate Appointment : Supreme Court Overrules Allahabad HC View

The Supreme Court today set aside Allahabad High Court's judgments which held that the definition of family doesn't include married daughter for the purpose of compassionate appointment.

A bench comprising Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe held that it is in agreement with all the judgments of the Bombay High Court and Karnataka High Court which said that marital status can't constitute a valid ground for denying the welfare measure to an otherwise eligible daughter.

This case arises from a reference by a single Judge of the Allahabad High Court to the Supreme Court on whether claims of married daughters for compassionate appointment can be denied while no such disability is attached to the married sons.

In this case, the petitioner, a married daughter, approached the Allahabad High Court for the license as a fair price shop dealer on compassionate ground. She challenged a 2019 Government Order which excluded married daughters from the definition of 'family'. To briefly state, despite being married, she lived with her family, took care of a disabled sister, and ran a fair price shop with her mother. After her mother died, the petitioner applied for a license, which was denied to her.

The Single judge of the High Court considered the precedents before the Court. It considered the division bench's judgment in Vimal Srivastava vs State of U.P. and others(2015), wherein while interpreting a similar provision under The Uttar Pradesh Recruitment of Dependents of Government Servants Dying-in-Harness Rules, 1974 of the definition of "family" as contained for appointment of compassionate ground in a service matter, held that the exclusion of the married daughters from the definition of the family, is unconstitutional being violative of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India and thus the word "unmarried" used in the definition of family was struck down.

It also considered that the 2019 GO on the claim of a married daughter who challenged before a single Judge of the Allahabad High Court in Kusumlata vs State of U.P. and others(2021). It held that the logic of the Vimal judgment couldn't be applied. It held that the use of the word "unmarried daughter" in the definition of the family in the 2019 GO is not discriminatory. It also held that the 2019 GO can't be interpreted in the manner the Allahabad High Court interpreted the provisions of the Harness Rules. A similar view was taken by the division bench in Saida Begum vs State of U.P. and others(2023).

The Allahabad HC single bench also considered the divergent views taken by the other High Courts. For instance, the Bombay High Court in Ranjana Murlidhar Anerao vs State of Maharashtra and others(2014) held the exclusion of married daughters in the definition of "family" in the resolution issued by the State of Maharashtra under Licencing Order, 1979, violative of Articles 14, 15 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India. A similar view has also been taken by the Gujarat High Court.

Considering the divergent precedents, the single judge had referred the matter to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court however upheld the Bombay High Court's view in Ranjana and overruled the contrary judgments of the Allahabad High Court.

In the judgment pronounced today, the Supreme Court said: "Saida Begum doesn't lay down the correct law. In this present case, the materials on record establish that the appellant continued to reside in the same village even after marriage and actively assisted her mother in the operation of the fair price shop. The appellant, on her mother's demise, took responsible of her sister, including her physically impaired sister. Her application was rejected on the grounds that she is a married daughter is a constitutionally invalid ground."

The Court set aside the orders denying her the license and ordered that the competent authorities shall issue a valid license order within four weeks.

Case Details: KULSUM NISHA Vs STATE OF U.P

To be updated after the judgment is uploadedd