Denial of benefit of compassionate appointment to a daughter merely on ground that she is married is per se discriminatory

On the death of the sole breadwinner of family, the daughter of deceased employee,
submitted a representation seeking appointment on compassionate grounds. The Joint Director (Administration), Department of Agriculture Marketing rejected her request on the ground that the Service Rules does not entitle her to seek an appointment on compassionate grounds as she is the married daughter of the deceased employee.
The son of the deceased employee who was already employed in a private firm did not choose to apply for appointment on compassionate grounds as he was not interested in the job. Wife of the deceased employee also in the deteriorating health condition did not want to apply. The only surviving member of the family of the deceased employee was the daughter.

The Court held that exclusion of married daughter from claiming appointment on compassionate grounds suffers from vice of gender bias and clearly violates Articles 14 and 15 of Constitution of India. Married daughters cannot be excluded from ambit of expression 'family' of the deceased.

The daughter of deceased was married and living separately with her husband and her mother after the death of her father is living with her and she is taking care of her.
The Service Rule which declines such a benefit to a daughter merely on the ground that she is married is per se discriminatory. Even the remotest impression Appointment Rule gives that its consequence is resulting in any of the ingredients of Articles 14 and 15 being violated, such a Rule will have to be held to be ultravires the Constitution.

Fundamental right to equality means that persons in like situations under like circumstances should be treated alike. If the marital status of a son does not make any difference in law to his entitlement for seeking appointment on compassionate grounds, the marital status of a daughter should make no difference, as the married daughter does not cease to be a part of the family and law cannot make an assumption that married sons alone continue to be the part of the family.