The need to carry out amendments in the Compassionate Appointment Rules in Jammu and Kashmir has now become not only a possibility but a virtual compliance of and to be guided by the judgments of the Supreme Court. When a serving person dies in harness or loses one’s job on medical grounds , the next of the kin may be considered for employment in the lowest rank in the concerned department against an available vacancy and subject to various set procedures and rules . The idea behind compassionate appointment is basically the deceased ‘s family be looked after for sustenance and the person appointed on such grounds must by an undertaking declare that he or she will maintain the concerned family members who were dependent on the deceased Government servant. In this connection, a more rational and structured scheme is being followed at the levels of the Government of India. Both these aspects are to be kept in view while carrying out the much required amendments in the existing Rules in the UT. Not only that, there were two important issues which cropped up .One- vacancies must be identified and reserved in every Government department fixing a limit or percentage thereof and,two- since the grounds are on compassion hence the need to settle each and every concerned case in a time bound manner and not causing delays.
Such issues need regular reviewing in respect of implementation of the scheme otherwise required to be all done within one year of the death of the deceased person . It is a notable development in the issue under reference that the Chief Secretary of the UT recently took stock of the position of the implementation of SRO-43 of 1994with other top bureaucrats in the UT Administration . He, in the process, having learnt that SRO-43 amendments made during the intervening period also got acquainted with the present status of cases of appointment on compassionate grounds which were pending in General Administration Department and the Home Department respectively thus defeating the very purpose and the aim of such compassionate appointments. Since the appointments in question are of different nature due to peculiar circumstances, the limitations and realms of availability of vacancy in that very particular department and not in other departments etc and in respect of other criteria of eligibility and providing relaxation therein, need all to be looked into from a more flexible angle. Hence that speaks for the need to carry out necessary amendments in the entire structure of such appointments in the light of and as guided by the current scheme run at Government of India level and in the light of the judgments of the Supreme Court.
That the said task has been assigned to a committee comprising high ranking officials from Home, General Administration, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Departments is a right decision especially in the light of perusing SRO -43 to find out where and which type of amendments were required to be carried out that were beneficiary friendly . Since martyrs, as a consequence of prevalent peculiar circumstances in the UT, constitute a very important and significant segment , the families of whom require succour and relief by means of providing employment to the next kin or other relation of the deceased, such factors need to kept in mind while forwarding the recommendations by the constituted committee to the Government. However, the guiding factor definitely would be the practice followed in Government of India. We would reiterate that at no cost pendency of the cases/ applications under SRO- 43 or under other Rules should be allowed beyond a reasonable period of time. Even reassessment of element of compassion under some other SROs needed to be made.
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