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Chief General Manager, Telecommunication, BSNL v. Vidya Prasad

Civil Appeal · 2021 INSC 564Decided 28 Sept 2021
Civil Appeal No. 6019 of 2021
Justice Ajay Rastogi · Justice Abhay S. Oka

Background

The respondent's father, a BSNL Telephone Mechanic, died in service in 2003. The respondent applied for compassionate appointment under the scheme that was in force at that time (the 1998 scheme) and completed all required formalities in 2005, but BSNL did not decide his case. By the time BSNL introduced a new, stricter "weightage-point" scheme in 2007 and then rejected his application under that new scheme, several years had passed. The matter eventually reached the Allahabad High Court, which found the delay in considering his case was unfair, but since he had by then crossed 50 years of age, it granted him Rs. 10 lakh compensation instead of an actual job.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court agreed that the long delay in deciding the respondent's application was entirely attributable to BSNL's own inaction, and that he had been eligible for compassionate appointment under the 1998 scheme that was in force both when his father died and when he applied, before the rules changed. The Court held that denying him relief simply because of the employer's own delay would itself be an injustice, but also recognised that at this stage, actually appointing him (now well past 50) was not practical. Balancing these considerations, it modified the High Court's award, reducing the compensation from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh, payable within four weeks with 9% interest thereafter if delayed.

Lesson Learnt

A public sector employer cannot sit on a compassionate-appointment application for years and then deny the benefit by relying on new, stricter rules introduced during that very delay: if the employer's own inaction caused the applicant to lose the window for appointment, courts will hold the employer accountable, typically through monetary compensation.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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