V. SIVAMURTHY versus STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH. AND ORS.

Citation: [2008] 11 S.C.R. 1201 · Decided: 12-08-2008 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: R.V. RAVEENDRAN · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
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Judgment (excerpt)

[2008] 11S.C.R.1201 
V. SIVAMURTHY 
v. 
STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH. AND ORS. 
(Civil Appeal No. 4210 _of. 2003) 
AUGUST 12, 2008 
[R.V. RAVEENDRAN AND LOKESHWAR SINGH 
PANTA, JJ.] 
Service Law: 
A 
B 
Appointment - Compassionate appointment - Principle C 
relating to - Summarized and re-iterated. 
Appointment - Compassionate appointment - For de-
pendant family members of Government servants retiring on 
medical invalidation - High Court held the. compassionate 0 
appointment scheme as unconstitutional, being violative of 
Article 1 o of the Constitution - On appeal, held: Compassion-
ate appointment is not restricted to only one contingency of 
death in harness - For the very reasons for which compas-
sionate appointment to a dependant of a government servant 
. who· dies in harness is held to be valid and permissible, com-
E 
passionate appointments to dependant of a. medically invali-
dated government servant has to be held to be valid and per-
mfr~sible - Compassionate appointiment scheme in question 
therefore held valid and permissible, more so when stringent 
safeguards were built into the scheme to prevent its misuse -
. F 
Constitution of India, 1950 - Art. 16. 
Appointment - Compassionate appointment - For de-
pendant family members of Government servants retiring on 
medical invalidation - Benefit of the compassionate appoint-
G 
ment scheme restricted to cases where Government servants 
retired on medical invalidatio_n, at least five years before at-
taining age ·of superannuation - Period of five years of such 
'left over service' reckoned from date of issue of the order of 
1201 
H 
1202 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2008) 11 S.C.R. 
A 
retirement on medical invalidation - Scheme challenged as 
arbitrary and unreasonable on ground that even when a gov-
ernment servant filed application for retirement on medical 
invalidation when 'left over period' was more than five years, if 
there was delay in processing of the application, the 'left over 
B period' may get reduced to less than five years thereby mak-
ing his dependant ineligible for benefit of compassionate ap-
pointment - Consequent plea that period of five years of 'left 
over service' be reckoned from date of application for retire-
ment on medical invalidation - Held: Compassionate appoint-
C ment can only be claimed strictly in accordance with the terms 
of scheme and not by seeking relaxation of the terms of the 
scheme - The fact that on account of certain delays in pro-
cessing the application, a government servant may lose ben-
efit of the scheme, is no ground to relax the terms of the 
0 
scheme - A policy is not open to interference merely because 
the Court feels that it is not practical or less advantageous for 
government servants for whose benefit the policy is made or 
because it considers that a more fairer alternative is possible 
- Administrative Law - Policy decision - Judicial review -
Scope of. 
E 
Constitution of India, 1950 - Art. 226 - Writ petitions -
Order passed by High Court - Challenge to, on ground that it 
was decided on a non-issue - On facts, held, not sustainable, 
since the issue considered and decided by High Court was 
F not wholly unconnected to the subject matter of the writ peti-
tions. 
By GO dated 30-7-1980, the State Government for-
mulated a scheme for providing compassionate appoint-
ment to dependents (spouse/son/daughter) of Govern-
G ment servants retiring on medical invalidation. By GO 
dated 4-7-1985, benefit of the scheme was restricted to 
cases where the Government servants retired on medi-
cal invalidation, at least five years before attaining the age 
of superannuation. To prevent misuse of the scheme, the 
H State Government issued GO dated 9-6-1998, prescribing 
)i.. 
V. SIVAMURTHY v. STATE OF ANDHRA 
1203 
PRADESH & ORS. 
suitable safeguards and procedures by constituting Medi-
A 
cal Boards, District/State Level Committees to examine 
and recommend the applications for compassionate ap-
pointment on ground of medical invalidation. 
Clarification was subsequently issued by Govern-
B 
.... 
ment Memo (GM) dated 25-6-1999, that the period of five 
years of "left over service" was to be reckoned from the 
date of issue of orders of retirement on medical invalida-
tion. The clarification led to considerable grievance 
amongst the government servants who contended that c 
even when a government servant made an application for 
medical invalidation when the 'left over period' was more 
than five years, if
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