The Commissioner, Nagpur Municipal Corporation & Ors. v. Lalita & Ors., 2025
The Court reaffirmed that compassionate appointment is an exceptional relief, not a vested right, intended only when death occurs during service, leading to sudden financial distress.
Judgement Details
Court
Supreme Court of India
Date of Decision
8 November 2025
Judges
Justice Pankaj Mithal & Justice Prasanna B. Varale
Citation
Acts / Provisions
Section 13(1)(ia), Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
Section 25, Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
Facts of the Case
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One Gulab Mahagu Bawankule, an employee of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation, went missing on September 1, 2012.
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Despite his disappearance, he was deemed to be in continuous service until his retirement on January 31, 2015.
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His family was paid ₹6.49 lakh as retiral benefits and a monthly pension of ₹12,000.
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In 2022, a civil court declared him dead, though no specific date of death was stated.
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Following this, his son applied for compassionate appointment, claiming the father should be treated as deceased from the date of disappearance (2012).
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The Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench) accepted this view and directed the Municipal Corporation to offer compassionate appointment.
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The Municipal Corporation appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the family had already accepted retirement and pensionary benefits, acknowledging the employee’s retirement rather than death in harness.
Issues
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Whether the presumption of death under Section 108 of the Evidence Act could arise before the expiry of seven years from the date of disappearance?
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Whether the family of a missing employee, who retired before the seven-year period elapsed and received retirement benefits, could claim compassionate appointment?
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Whether acceptance of retiral and pensionary benefits amounts to acknowledgment that the employee retired, thereby precluding a claim under the death-in-harness scheme?
Held
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Compassionate appointment is not an inherent right but a concession to alleviate immediate financial hardship arising from an employee’s death while in service.
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Since the missing employee was deemed to have retired normally and the family accepted retiral benefits, the claim for compassionate appointment is invalid.
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However, the Municipal Corporation may independently consider the respondent’s case for any other suitable post within its jurisdiction, with possible age relaxation, if legally permissible.
Analysis
The Court’s reasoning rested on two core principles:
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Statutory Presumption under Section 108: A person missing cannot be presumed dead until seven years have elapsed. Hence, the civil court’s 2022 declaration of death could not retrospectively treat the employee as dead from 2012.
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Doctrine of Estoppel and Nature of Compassionate Appointment: Having accepted retirement and pensionary benefits, the family had acknowledged the employee’s continuance in service till retirement. Thus, invoking the death-in-harness scheme later was contradictory and legally untenable.
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The Court reaffirmed that compassionate appointment is an exceptional relief, not a vested right, intended only when death occurs during service, leading to sudden financial distress.
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The judgment ensures consistency in the application of compassionate appointment schemes and prevents misuse of the benefit in situations where an employee’s family has already received retirement benefits.