- (1.)Leave granted. This appeal has been preferred against the impugned judgment and order dated 6.7.2012 passed by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh (Gwalior Bench) in Writ Appeal No. 363 of 2012, by which and whereunder, the High Court upheld the judgment and order dated 6.5.2011 passed by the learned Single Judge of the High Court in Writ Petition No. 5109 of 2005 issuing direction to the present Appellant to consider the case of the Respondent herein for compassionate appointment.
(2.)Facts and circumstances as per the records available giving rise to this appeal are that:
A. The father of the Respondent No. 1 was appointed as a Surveyor on 28.11.1967 in the Agricultural Department. He abstained from duly w.e.f. 6.1.1975 and after about 20 years of his abandonment from service voluntarily, his murder was committed on 6.11.1996.

B. On the date of death i.e. 6.11.1996 of the said incumbent, the Respondent was 11 years of age and he applied for appointment on compassionate ground on 9.8.1999 claiming to be of 18 years of age and having passed the tenth class examination. However, the present Appellant has denied the factum of receiving of any such application.

C. It appears that an application for the same relief was filed in 2001 and as it remained pending, the Respondent approached the High Court by filing Writ Petition No. 2030 of 2004 which stood disposed of vide order dated 16.5.2005 with a direction to the Appellant-State to decide his claim. When this case was considered, the State/Authority made it clear that it had never received any application dated 9.8.1999 and the application was filed at a belated stage which was not maintainable as per the directions contained in circular dated 23.7.2001 which provided that no application for compassionate appointment would be considered after a lapse of 7 years from the date of the death of the incumbent.

D. The said order was again challenged by the Respondent by filing Writ Petition No. 5109 of 2005 and the State Government in its Counter Affidavit submitted before the High Court that application dated 9.8.1999 for compassionate appointment was never received. More so, if he was 11 years of age in 1996, he could not have completed 18 years of age in 1999 and as his father remained absent from duty since 1975 till he was murdered in 1996, he could not be treated to have been in service even after about two decades' of absence.

E. The High Court allowed the Writ Petition No. 5109 of 2005 vide order dated 6.5.2011 issuing direction to the Appellant to consider his application for appointment on compassionate ground.

F. Aggrieved, the Appellant preferred the Writ Appeal No. 363 of 2012 before the High Court of Madhya Pradesh (Gwalior Bench), which stood dismissed vide order dated 6.7.2012.

Hence, this appeal.

(3.)We have heard Learned Counsel for the parties and perused the record. In view of the facts mentioned hereinabove, there is no denial by the Respondent that his father remained absent from duty from 1975 till his death in 1996. Therefore, the first question arises as to whether a person absent from duty for about two decades can claim to be in service though his services had not been terminated by passing any order.