Justice Suraj Govindaraj, Karnataka High Court
Strict Enforcement Of Age Limit Would Cause Injustice: Karnataka HC Directs NWKRTC To Appoint Widow On Compassionate Grounds
|Widow's job plea was rejected for exceeding the 45-year age limit by 7 months.
The Karnataka High Court has issued a significant ruling directing the North West Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) to adopt a more compassionate and humane approach in dealing with requests for appointments on compassionate grounds by family members of deceased employees.
This direction was issued in response to a petition filed by a woman whose husband, employed as a controller at a depot under NWKRTC, passed away on June 25, 2021. She applied for a job under the corporation’s compassionate appointment policy, seeking a Class-D position, which she was otherwise eligible for based on her educational qualifications. However, her application was rejected on the ground that she had exceeded the upper age limit of 45 years. At the time of application, she was 45 years and 7 months old.
A Bench of Justice Suraj Govindraj held, “This is a case where the widow has crossed the upper age limit prescribed by the respondents and she has no one to look after her. In such cases, such a strict implementation of the upper age limit would only cause injustice and would not be in the interest of social justice which is required to be advanced by an authority under the State.”
Advocate Hemanthkumar L. Havaragi appeared for the Petitioner and Advocate P.N. Hatti appeared for the Respondents.
The Court has asked the Managing Director of NWKRTC to devise a policy that is considerate and supportive towards the dependents of employees who die while in service.
In challenging the rejection, the petitioner argued that she was the deceased employee’s widow and had no children or other family members to support her. She maintained that being left without a source of livelihood, she had no option but to seek employment from the corporation to sustain herself.
The corporation, in its defense, stood by the age criteria, stating that her application was correctly rejected as she did not meet the eligibility conditions due to her age.
The Court observed that the very purpose of offering compassionate appointments is to safeguard the financial well-being of the dependents of employees who die while in service. The Court emphasized that such provisions exist to ensure that the bereaved family does not suffer undue hardship and that there is some continuity of livelihood, offering a sense of security to the employee during their lifetime.
The Court added, “In that view of the matter, taking into account the special circumstances, namely that the petitioner is a widow who has no one to look after her, I am the considered opinion that the order which has been passed by the respondents is not humane and has in fact caused injustice to the widow of a deceased employee of the Road Transport Corporation.”
Accordingly, the High Court set aside the order passed by the corporation rejecting the woman’s application and directed the Divisional Controller of KSRTC, Gadag Division to appoint the petitioner as a Class-D employee, without applying the upper age limit restriction, and in accordance with the other standard service conditions applicable to such positions.
Furthermore, the Court urged, “The Managing Director of respondent No.2/Road Transport Corporation is also requested to look into these kinds of matters to formulate an appropriate humane policy, which would be in the best interest of the employees and their family members in the event of the employee expiring during the course of employment.”
Cause Title: Lakshmavva v. The State Of Karnataka & Ors., [2025:KHC-D:10273]
Appearance:
Petitioner: Advocate Hemanthkumar L. Havaragi
Respondents: Advocates P.N Hatti, Prashant Hosamani