Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:22938 Court No. - 5 Case :- WRIT - A No. - 18849 of 2024 Petitioner :- Smt. Raziya Respondent :- Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited And 4 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Praveen Kumar Srivastava Counsel for Respondent :- Abhishek Srivastava,K.K.Rao,R.P. Mishra Hon'ble Ajay Bhanot,J. Heard Shri Praveen Kumar Srivastava, learned counsel for the petitioner, Shri K.K.Rao, learned counsel for the respondents No.2, 3 and 4, Shri R.P. Mishra, learned counsel for the respondent No.5 and Ms.Kritika Sinha, learned counsel holding brief of Shri Abhishek Srivastava, learned counsel for the respondent No.1. The petitioner is the wife of the deceased-employee. The claim of the petitioner for appointment on compassionate ground has been rejected by the impugned order dated 29.10.2024 passed by the respondent No.4 on the footing that the there is a dispute between the two legal heirs of the deceased-employee and on the ground the appointments on compassionate grounds are governed and regulated by the office memorandum dated 13.09.2024. The said office memorandum disentitles the petitioner to such appointment. The husband of the petitioner died on 05.08.2023. The application for appointment on compassionate grounds was submitted by the petitioner on 01.04.2024. At the time of death of the employee and submission of the application for appointment on compassionate grounds, the said appointment was regulated by the U.P. Recruitment of Dependents of Government Servants Dying-in-Harness Rules, 1974. The rules for appointment on compassionate ground underwent a change by virtue of the office memorandum dated 13.09.2024. The aforesaid office memorandum shall apply prospectively and not to the case of the petitioner. The respondent-authority erred in law by declining the application of the petitioner on the aforesaid grounds. In N.C. Santosh v. State of Karnataka and others reported at (2020) 7 SCC 617, the employee had died on 25.01.1998. The application for grant of compassionate appointment was made on 29.06.2000. The rules for grant of compassionate appointment stood amended on 01.04.1999. Deciding the issue as regards the applicability to cases prior to amendment of Rules in N.C. Santosh (supra) held as under: "19. Applying the law governing compassionate appointment culled out from the above cited judgments, our opinion on the point at issue is that the norms, prevailing on the date of consideration of the application, should be the basis for consideration of claim for compassionate appointment. A dependent of a government employee, in the absence of any vested right accruing on the death of the government employee, can only demand consideration of his/her application. He is however disentitled to seek consideration in accordance with the norms as applicable, on the day of death of the government employee.” The claim of the petitioner is being contested by the respondent No.5 who is the mother of the deceased employee. The mother of the deceased-employee is admittedly receiving family pension to the tune of Rs.60,525/-. The financial condition of the mother of the deceased- employee is sound. The petitioner who is the widow faces financial destitution after the death of her husband. The claim for appointment of the petitioner on compassionate grounds is liable to be allowed. The impugned order dated 29.10.2024 passed by the respondent No.4 is liable to be set aside and is set aside. The respondents are directed to appoint the petitioner on a suitable post on compassionate grounds. The writ petition is allowed to the extent indicated above. Order Date :- 18.2.2025 Ashish Tripathi Digitally signed by :- ASHISH NAYAN TRIPATHI High Court of Judicature at Allahabad