Indu Devi and Anr. v. The Union Of India and Ors.
Compassionate appointment – Border Security Force
Case brief
What is this about?
Patna High Court CWJC No.5509 of 2017, decided 10-02-2026 by Partha Sarthy, J. Petitioners Indu Devi and Gopal Kumar Pandey challenged rejection of compassionate appointment claim in BSF; father/husband, a Sepoy, took voluntary retirement 27.12.1995, died 28.9.1997; application filed 22.12.2015 upon majority, rejected 16.2.2017 by Commandant, 12 Battalion BSF. Court held no compassionate appointment lies on death of a person already retired, and 18-year delay defeats the purpose of the scheme; writ dismissed. Keywords: compassionate appointment, BSF, voluntary retirement, delay and laches, post-retirement death.
What did the court decide?
The father of petitioner no.2 was not in service at the time of his death, having obtained voluntary retirement on 27.12.1995, and on the date of his death (28.9.1997) petitioner no.2 was a one-year-old child