Validity certificate required for appointment on compassionate grounds

Appointments under the reserved category

Aurangabad, July 28:

A post reserved for the backward classes can be assigned on compassionate basis to the legal heirs on the death of their parents. However, assuming that the heir concerned belongs to the same reserved category, it is compulsory to provide a caste validity certificate, ordered the Constitution Bench comprising of Bombay High Court Chief Justice Dipankar Datta, Justice Ravindra V Ghuge and Justice Vibha Kankanwadi in a hearing held recently.

Two employees appointed to a post reserved for backward classes in Nanded Zilla Parishad died while on duty. Their heirs were appointed on a compassionate basis on the condition of providing a caste validity certificate within six months. However, petitioner Om Anjanwad and Shital Bainwad challenged the orders. As per their petition, since their appointment is not on a reserved post but on a compassionate basis, they are not required to submit a validity certificate. Compassion basis is a special category and the reservation does not apply to them.

When both the petitions came up for hearing, different judgments were submitted by both the parties on the same issue. This created a constitutional dilemma. Therefore, the matter was referred to the Constitution Bench.

During the hearing, adv Yogita Thorat-Kshirsagar representing the Nanded Zilla Parishad in the argument referred to various judgments and pointed out to the bench that the validity certificate was required.

Adv CR Thorat represented the petitioners, additional public prosecutor PS Patil represented the government while adv Mahesh Deshmukh assisted the bench.