ASHWANI KUMAR MISHRA,J. - (1.) Ranvir Singh Bhadoriya, petitioner's elder brother was employed as Assistant Accountant with the U.P. Dakshinanchal Electricity Distribution Company, who met with an accident. The employee concerned as well as his wife Smt. Archana Bhadoriya both died on10.1.2015,leaving behind their two minor children namely Amay Bhadoriya aged about 9 years and Km. Aarna Bhadoriya aged about 4 years. Elderly parents of the deceased employee as well as unmarried brother of the deceased i.e. the petitioner are the one left to look after the minor children. An application for grant of compassionate appointment to the present petitioner, who is the real younger brother of the deceased employee was filed, stating that he is an unemployed brachelor taking care of the children, and in the peculiar facts and circumstances, as there exists none else to take care of the minor children, compassionate appointment be granted to him. The application was filed by the father of the deceased employee . Peculiar facts and circumstances of the family were high lighted for the purposes of grant of compassionate appointment. The claim for grant of compassionate appointment was processed at the level of the Corporation and was forwarded by the Executive Engineer to the Superintending Engineer on 21.3.2015. After considering the claim, with the approval of higher authorities, an order came to be passed by the Superintending Engineer on 8.4.2015, granting compassionate appointment to petitioner. Pursuant to such order, petitioner joined and is working in the respondent corporation as a Class -III employee. The Superintending Engineer vide his order dated 17.3.2016, has proceeded to terminate petitioner's services on the ground that compassionate appointment offered to petitioner was contrary to the applicable Regulations of 1975, inasmuch as brother is not a part of the family. It is this order which is under challenge in the present writ petition.
(2.) Learned senior counsel for the petitioner submits that the order impugned carries civil consequences and as no opportunity of hearing has been provided to the petitioner, as such, it is bad in law. He further contends that this case is peculiar inasmuch as not only deceased employee but his wife has also died in the same accident, leaving behind two minor children. Submission is that grant of compassionate appointment is a means to tide over sudden difficulties created for the family. In the present case, grant of compassionate appointment was necessary to ensure education and healthy upbringing of both the minor children, since their grand parents may not be able to take care of them due to their old age and ill health. Appointment offered to petitioner thus, was to subserve the object of grant of compassionate appointment. It is contended that only after due consideration of such facts and materials available on record, the order of compassionate appointment was issued with the approval of senior officers and it could not have been cancelled, in the manner as has been done.
(3.) A short counter affidavit has been filed in which it is stated that only un -married brother can constitute part of 'family' under the rules if the deceased employee was a bachelor at the time of death, which was not the case here, and in the absence of any enabling provision in the rules, offering of appointment to the petitioner was bad in law.;