Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Sandip Singh, sought a direction to the authorities to consider his candidature for compassionate appointment, following the death of his father, Ashok Kumar Singh, while in service on 21.10.2017. He had submitted an application dated 20.05.2019 seeking compassionate appointment, which had remained pending for over four years. The relevant authority named as opposite party no.2 was the Commissioner, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Goods and Services Tax, GST Bhavan, Hazratganj, Lucknow — the department is a GST-administration office only in the sense that it is the petitioner's father's former employer; the case itself is a service-law matter about compassionate appointment, not a GST law dispute.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the Commissioner, CBIC-GST, Lucknow, should be directed to decide the petitioner's long-pending compassionate-appointment application.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioner is duly eligible and qualified for compassionate appointment following his father's death in service, and his application dated 20.05.2019 remained undecided.

Respondent's Arguments

  • Represented by the Assistant Solicitor General of India; no specific opposition to a direction for consideration is recorded in the brief order.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court did not decide the petitioner's eligibility for compassionate appointment on merits.
  • Considering the innocuous nature of the prayer, it directed the Commissioner, CBIC-GST, Lucknow, to consider and decide the pending application dated 20.05.2019 by a reasoned and speaking order within six weeks from the date a certified copy of the order is produced.
  • The petitioner was directed to annex a copy of his 2019 application along with the certified copy of the order.

Important Clarification

The Court has not ruled that the petitioner is entitled to compassionate appointment — it has only compelled the department to actually decide the long-pending application, one way or the other, with reasons, within a fixed time.

Sections Involved

  • Constitution of India, 1950 — Article 226, under which the writ petition was filed.
  • Central Civil Services (Compassionate Appointment) rules/scheme — the general service-law framework governing consideration of compassionate appointment claims, applicable to the CBIC-GST department as the employer here.

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of without a decision on merits — the petitioner secured only a time-bound direction that his compassionate-appointment application be decided by a reasoned order.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench
  • Case Number: WRIT-A No. 7646 of 2023
  • Neutral Citation: 2023:AHC-LKO:64896
  • Coram: Hon'ble Manish Mathur, J.
  • Date of Order: 09.10.2023

Link to Download the Order

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