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TMI Blog2013 (9) TMI 73X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nts but not to any other thing - Public post was not a heritable property - In fact it was an exception to the rule of regular appointment by open competition - Such exception to the rule of regular appointment was therefore a privilege extended by the employer in terms of the scheme for compassionate appointment itself - It was not a property of the deceased nor was it a heritable right. Ramesh Chand Vs. Executive Engineer, Electricity Distribution Division – II, U.P. Power Corporation Ltd., Allahabad and others [2003 (10) TMI 609 - ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT] had rightly interpreted the restricted import of the legal presumption in Section 16 of the Act and rejected its applicability to matters relating to compassionate appointment - Right to compassionate appointment was an exception to the general rule of recruitment by public competition - Such privilege therefore was to be strictly construed according to the terms and conditions of the scheme and the same cannot be rewritten by the Courts. Wherever the legislature wanted to extend any right or privilege to illegitimate children, it expressly provided for the same - The scheme for compassionate appointment had not expressly pr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ch representation, the petitioner appeared before the Screening Committee and after initial medical examination, his case was forwarded to the Deputy CME/Agent, Kumaradhubi Colliery, Eastern Coalfields Limited, respondent no. 6 herein. By impugned order bearing Memo No. ECL/AGENT/KDC/2011/514 dated 30th May/2nd June, 2011, the respondent no. 6 rejected the claim of the petitioner on the ground that he was born out of the second marriage of Late Mithu Singh. The petitioner challenged such decision before this Court in W.P. No. 1015 of 2011. The learned Single Judge set aside the impugned order rejecting the prayer for compassionate appointment of the petitioner by holding that the word son in the category of dependants in Clause 9.3.3 of the National Coal Wage Agreement VI (hereinafter referred to as NCWA ) would include an illegitimate son born out of the second marriage of a deceased employee. Mr. Alok Banerjee, learned advocate appearing for the appellant Eastern Coalfields Limited, assailed the impugned order on the ground that public post is not heritable property of the deceased employee and therefore terms of the compassionate appointment scheme as engrafted in N ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the absence of the aforesaid categories, employment may be provided to brother/widowed daughter/widowed daughter-in-law or son-in law residing with the deceased and wholly dependant on the earnings of the deceased. The learned Single Judge applied provisions of Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 to hold that word son in the aforesaid paragraph would include a son born out of second marriage which is void in law. Second 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 reads as follows : 16. Legitimacy of children of void and voidable marriages. (1) Notwithstanding that a marriage is null and void under section 11, any child of such marriage who would have been legitimate if the marriage had been valid, shall be legitimate, whether such child is born before or after the commencement of the Marriage Laws. Amendment Act, 1976, (68 of 1976.) and whether or not a decree of nullity is granted in respect of that marriage under this Act and whether or not the marriage is held to be void otherwise than on a petition under this Act. (2) Where a decree of nullity is granted in respect of a voidable marriage under section 12, any child begotten or conceived before the decree is made ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d not to other things. Hence, such provision of law cannot be pressed into service to expand the privilege of compassionate appointment extended by an employee under the scheme as the same can by no stretch of imagination be held to be the property of the deceased employee. The appellant has relied on decision reported in 2000 (2) SCC 431 wherein the Apex Court had upheld the decision of the High Court that illegitimate children were entitled to share in the family pension and gratuity of the deceased employee until they attained majority. In the said decision, the Apex Court had referred to Section 16 of the Act and held as follows : It cannot be disputed that the marriage between Narain Lal and Yogmaya Devi was in contravention of clause (i) of Section 5 of Hindu Marriage Act and was a void marriage. Under Section 16 of this Act, children of a void marriage are legitimate. Under Hindu Succession Act, 1956, property of a male Hindu dying intestate devolves firstly on heirs clause (1) which include the widow and son. Among the widow and the son, they all get shares (See Section 8, 10 and the Schedule of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.) Yogmaya Devi cannot be described as a w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ically follows therefrom. On the other hand, the decision of the Allahabad High Court reported in 2004 (100) FLR 111 (Ramesh Chand Vs. Executive Engineer, Electricity Distribution Division II, U.P. Power Corporation Ltd., Allahabad and others) has rightly interpreted the restricted import of the legal presumption in Section 16 of the Act and rejected its applicability to matters relating to compassionate appointment. Right to compassionate appointment is an exception to the general rule of recruitment by public competition. Such privilege therefore is to be strictly construed according to the terms and conditions of the scheme and the same cannot be rewritten by the Courts. In Bhawani Prasad Sonkar Vs. Union of India and Ors. reported in (2011) 4 SCC 209 THE Apex Court, inter alia, held as follows : Thus, while considering a claim for employment on compassionate ground, the following factors have to be borne in mind : (i) Compassionate employment cannot be made in the absence of rules or regulations issued by the Government or a public authority. The request is to be considered strictly in accordance with the governing scheme, and no discretion as such is left with ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion to the matter of compassionate appointment of a deceased employee. The matter can also be viewed from another angle. A bare reading of clause 9.3.3 which defines dependants would show that the word son is accompanied by the words legally adopted son . It is settled law that the meaning of a word is to be judged by the company it keeps. When two or more words which are susceptible of analogous meaning are coupled together, they are understood to be used in their cognate sense. They take as it were their colour from each other, that is, the more general is restricted to a sense analogous to a less general (MAXWELL : Interpretation of Statute, 11th Edition, p. 321). Applying such principle, when the general expression son is occurring in conjunction to the qualified expression legally adopted son we are of the opinion that the former would take a restricted meaning of legitimacy and not a wider meaning as held by the learned Single Judge. For these reasons also we are not inclined to hold that the expression son in the category of dependants in the aforesaid scheme would include illegitimate son born out of the second wedlock of a deceased employee. We are unable to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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