Laxman Singh Vs the Chairman-Cum-Managing Director, Bharat Coking Coal Limited — Jharkhand HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

Laxman Singh Vs the Chairman-Cum-Managing Director, Bharat Coking Coal Limited — Jharkhand HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Impugned communication dated 04.09.2025 set aside; respondents to reconsider the compassionate appointment claim afresh treating the petitioner's date of birth as 04.07.1985, decide within four weeks, and pass the appointment order immediately if entitlement is otherwise established.

Issue for consideration

Whether the respondents' communication dated 04.09.2025 rejecting the petitioner's compassionate appointment claim solely because he was aged more than 35 years at the time of his father's death should be set aside. +1 more

Court's answer

Given the presence of the authentic Matriculation Certificate as the most clinching and authenticated document, the respondents could not rely upon the divergent age entries made in the father's service records; consequently, the ground that the petitioner was over 35 years at the time of death cannot be sustained.

Ratio / Principle

The petitioner's Matriculation Certificate, issued by the Jharkhand Academic Council and verified as genuine by Bharat Coking Coal Limited (genuineness certificate at Annexure-7), records his date of birth as 04.07.1985, establishing that he was aged less than 35 years on the date of his father's death.

Key takeaways

The impugned order dated 04.09.2025 rejecting the compassionate appointment claim is set aside.ratio¶27
The respondents are directed to pass a fresh order on the compassionate appointment claim considering the petitioner's date of birth as 04.07.1985 as recorded in the Matriculation Certificate; the decision is to be taken within four weeks of receipt of a copy of the order, and if the petitioner is otherwise found entitled, the appointment order should be passed immediately.ratio¶28

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi (Ananda Sen, J.) — Writ petition (certiorari-type; no counter-affidavit called) challenging a communication dated 04.09.2025 issued by Bharat Coking Coal Limited (Annexure-12) rejecting the petitioner's claim for compassionate appointment — his father, a BCCL employee, died in harness on 18.04.2020 — solely on the ground that the petitioner was aged more than 35 years, as inferred from divergent age entries in the deceased's service book and from a medical assessment of the petitioner. Held: the petitioner's Matriculation Certificate issued by the Jharkhand Academic Council, duly verified as genuine at the instance of BCCL (genuineness certificate at Annexure-7), records his date of birth as 04.07.1985 and shows he was aged less than 35 years at the time of his father's death; being an old, authenticated document, it prevails over the service-record entries, and the age-based ground of rejection cannot be sustained. The impugned communication was set aside, and the respondents were directed to pass a fresh order treating the date of birth as 04.07.1985, deciding within four weeks of receipt of the order and granting the appointment immediately if the petitioner is otherwise found entitled. Petition disposed of.

2026:JHHC:3366

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI W.P.(S) No. 686 of 2026

Laxman Singh, aged about 40 years, son of Late Hari Mohan Singh, resident of near Shiv Mandir, Chandor Basti, PO-Sijua PS-Tetulmari, District-Dhanbad, Jharkhand-828121. … … Petitioner(s)

Versus

The Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Bharat Coking Coal Limited, having its office at Koyla Bhawan, Koyla Nagar Dhanbad, PO & PS-Dhanbad, Pin-826005, Jharkhand.

The Director (Human Resource), Bharat Coking Coal Limited, having its office at Koyla Bhawan, Koyla Nagar Dhanbad, PO & PS-Dhanbad, Pin-826005, Jharkhand.

The General Manager (P & IR), Bharat Coking Coal Limited, having its office at Sujia Area Office, Sujia, Dhanbad, PO-Sujia and PS-Tetulmari, District-Dhanbad, Jharkhand.

The Manager (P), Bharat Coking Coal Limited, having its office at Sujia Area Office, Sujia, Dhanbad, PO-Sujia and PSTetulmari, District-Dhanbad, Jharkhand.

The Area Manager (Personal), Bharat Coking Coal Limited, having its office at Sujia Area Office, Sujia, Dhanbad, PO-Sujia and PS-Tetulmari, District-Dhanbad, Jharkhand.

The Senior Medical Officer (I/C), Apex Medical Board, Bharat Coking Coal Limited, at Koyla Bhawan, Koyla Nagar Dhanbad, PO & PS-Dhanbad, Pin-826005, Jharkhand.

… … Respondent(s)

CORAM : SRI ANANDA SEN, J.

For the Petitioner(s) : Ms. Khalida Haya Rashmi, Advocate

Mr. Ayush Kumar, Advocate

For the Respondent(s) : Mr. Manish Kumar, Advocate

Mr. Shubham Malviya, Advocate

02/ 09^th February, 2026

1. Heard the parties.

2. This is a case of certiorari. Thus, it is not necessary to call for a counter-affidavit from the respondents.

3. The petitioner seeks to quash Annexure-12, which is a Communication dated 04.09.2025 by which the claim of compassionate appointment of the petitioner has been rejected on the ground that he is aged more than 35 years.

4. After going through the records, I find that the respondents rejected the claim of the petitioner after arriving at a conclusion that he is aged more than 35 years on the date of the death of employee based on some entries of age of the petitioner in the service records of his father and also after medically assessing this petitioner.

5. The father of the petitioner was an employee of Bharat

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2026:JHHC:3366

Coking Coal Limited who died in harness on 18.04.2020. The petitioner filed an application for grant of compassionate appointment but ultimately the same was rejected on the ground that in the service book of the father of the petitioner, the age of this petitioner was recorded and there is divergent recording and as per the said recording, the petitioner is aged more than 35 years at the time of death. The petitioner was further subjected to a medical examination and it was found that he was aged more than 35 years.

6. I find that the petitioner has brought on record the Matriculation Certificate. The Matriculation Certificate of the petitioner has been issued by Jharkhand Academic Council. The said certificate has been duly verified at the instance of the Bharat Coking Coal Limited and the same was found to be genuine. The genuineness certificate has also been brought on record as Annexure-7. Both in the Matriculation Certificate and authentication report of the JAC clearly suggest that the date of birth of the petitioner is 04.07.1985. The date of birth of the petitioner recorded in the Matriculation Certificate clearly suggest that the petitioner was aged less than 35 years on the date of death of the father of the petitioner. Further, this Matriculation Certificate is an old document.

7. In presence of the most clenching and authenticate document, which is a Matriculation Certificate, the respondents could not have relied upon any other entries made in the service records of the father of the petitioner. Thus, the ground taken by the respondents that the age of the petitioner was more than 35 years at the time of death of the father cannot be sustained. Thus, the impugned order dated 04.09.2025 is set aside.

8. The respondents are directed to pass a fresh order considering the date of birth of the petitioner as 04.07.1985 which is recorded in the Matriculation Certificate. The decision should be taken within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. If otherwise, it is found that the petitioner is entitled for a compassionate appointment, the order should be passed immediately.

9. Accordingly, this writ petition is disposed of .

(ANANDA SEN, J.)

09.02.2026 S.K.D/Cp-2 Uploaded on 12.02.2026

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