“It hardly needs to be stated that the appointment on compassionate ground avails as an exception to the rule of equality enacted in Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. The Apex Court in Bank of Baroda vs. Baljit Singh 2023 SCC OnLine SC 745 has reiterated that the compassionate appointment is a concession and therefore, cannot be claimed as a matter of right; the job aspirants on this ground need to satisfy the criteria laid down in the extant rules/schemes. Added, the right to claim such appointment is conditioned by the fact that the family of the employee dying in harness is in financial distress and therefore, needs to be tided over. However, that is not the case here inasmuch as the respondent-LIC has paid the terminal benefits of the deceased employee in a whopping sum of Rs.1,58,06,025/which metaphorically speaking, is an astronomical figure. Even if recovery of Rs.27,35,616/- is made by way of deduction, still what remains is a sizeable amount. By no stretch of imagination, the members of the family, assuming that a married daughter too happens to be one, therefore, cannot argue of financial distress and therefore, needs to be tided over. However, that is not the case here...”
