Relaxation in Educational Qualification For Compassionate Appointment: Calcutta High Court Directs Reconsideration

This article is written by Unnati V. Chhangani, a Fourth Year Law Student, Jai Narayan Vyas University, Jodhpur.

The Calcutta High Court has directed the reconsideration of the relaxation in educational qualification for Compassionate Appointment. 

The division bench of Justice Madhuresh Prasad and Justice Supratim Bhattacharya observed that an office providing compassionate employment must reckon all the parameters  for such employment while examining whether the applicant has been qualified to be appointed compassionately.

The given writ petition arises from a challenge to the rejection of a compassionate appointment claim made by the petitioner, Manoj Kumar Das, whose father kicked the bucket in harness while serving as a Group-D employee under the Public Works Department of the Government of West Bengal.

The petitioner’s application was vetoed solely on the ground that he did not meet the minimum educational qualification required for the post i.e Class VIII pass. The matter was earlier upheld by the West Bengal Administrative Tribunal (S.A.T.), prompting the petitioner to seek redress before the High Court.

The central issue before the Court was whether the authorities had illicitly exercised their discretion under the Government’s compassionate appointment policy, which provides for relaxation of qualifications in deserving cases, particularly where the deceased employee’s family is unable to make their ends meet.

The Counsel for the Petitioner contended that the government servant has left behind a family who are not educationally qualified for recruitment under grade D post. Furthermore the documents submitted by applicant lucidly show the penury suffered by deceased kins. Additionally ,the authorities have not considered the petitioner for grant of relaxation in the minimum educational qualification in terms of Clause 6 (b) of the Notification dated 3rd December, 2013.

The court after reviewing the Notification that allows relaxation, the communication and the rejection order, noted that the only reasonfor rejection was educational deficiency.

The Court found that no effort was made to assess the petitioner’s family’s indigence or consider the possibility of relaxing the qualification. Therefore, the rejection did not meet the standards required by the scheme which mandates consideration of all relevant factors.

The court bolsterd it’s reasoning by following principles:-

1. Relaxation clause must be meaningfully applied: If the government scheme allows for relaxation of qualifications, the authority must consider it diligently and not reject applications mechanically.
2. Holistic assessment is mandatory: Authorities are required to evaluate the situation of the applicant’s family comprehensively, including financial condition and educational background of other family members
3. Administrative decisions must disclose reasoning: Any rejection must explicitly reflect that all relevant criteria (like family indigence and qualification relaxation provisions) have been considered.

The court directed the respondent to accord a comprehensive reconsideration to the petitioner’s claim by taking into consideration the various parameters regarding which information is normally sought on the prescribed proforma, so as to assess whether the petitioner’s claim is fit for grant of relaxation in educational qualification.

The order of the S.A.T. which had upheld the rejection was set aside by the court andthe writ petition and the original application before the S.A.T. were allowed.

Case Details

Case Title: Sri Manoj Kumar Das Vs. The State of West Bengal & Ors.

Citation: W.P.S.T. 80 of 2025

Counsel for the Petitioner: Kakali Dutta, S. Kundu

Counsel for the Respondent: Tapan Kumar Mukherjee, AGP, Sangeeta Roy

Read More: Once Judgement Is Pronounced Judgement, Court Has No Jurisdiction To Alter It: Calcutta HC