Rajasthan High Court seeks state reply on plea against denying married sister compassionate job

Jodhpur: The Rajasthan High Court has sought a response from the state government on a petition that challenges the denial of a compassionate appointment to a married sister of a deceased government employee. Hearing the matter at the admission stage, Justice Arun Monga issued notice to the respondents and directed them to file their reply.

The writ petition has been filed by Jyoti Joshi, a resident of Bhilwara district, through advocates Tanveer Ahmed and Razak Khan Haider. According to the petition, her father died in 1996 while still in government service, after which her brother was given an appointment on compassionate grounds as a dependent of the family.

According to advocate Razak Khan, the petition states that the brother too died prematurely, in 2007. At the time of his death the petitioner was unmarried and dependent on him. She was later refused the benefit of compassionate appointment on the ground that she had since married.

Relying on a state government notification dated 28 October 2021, the petition argues that while an unmarried sister of a deceased unmarried employee is treated as eligible for compassionate appointment, excluding a married sister runs contrary to the constitutional principle of equality.

The petition further contends that courts have earlier held provisions denying compassionate appointment to married daughters to be unconstitutional. On that basis, it argues, withholding the benefit from a married sister solely on the basis of her marital status is discriminatory and arbitrary.

After the preliminary hearing, the bench of Justice Arun Monga issued notice to the respondents seeking their reply.