WP 1285-25.DOC Vidya Amin IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 1285 OF 2025 Hawan Sudhakar Bhosale ...Petitioner Versus The State of Maharashtra & Ors. ...Respondents _________ Mr. Onkar Mane for Petitioner. Mr. Himanshu Takke, AGP for State. __________ CORAM: G. S. KULKARNI & DR. NEELA GOKHALE, JJ. DATE: 19 AUGUST 2026 P.C. 1. The petitioner in this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeks a direction to the respondents to provide him employment on compassionate grounds. 2. Briefly stated, the facts are : In the year 1985, the petitioner’s father Late Sudhakar Haribhau Bhosale was appointed to the post of Peon with respondent no. 3. He died in harness on 25 August, 2015. On 10 September, 2015, the petitioner made a representation to respondent no. 3 requesting to appoint him on compassionate grounds. Certain queries were raised by respondent no. 3, including a requirement that the petitioner submit a legal heir certificate. The petitioner thereafter took appropriate steps to obtain legal heir certificate by approaching this Court by filing Miscellaneous Petition No. 81 of 2019 and Miscellaneous Petition No. 132 of 2018, in which orders are stated to have been 19 August 2026 PRASHANT VILAS RANE Digitally signed by PRASHANT VILAS RANE Date: 2026.08.20 20:49:25 +0530 WP 1285-25.DOC passed by this Court. The petitioner’s stepmother also had given her no objection to the petitioner being appointed on compassionate grounds. The State Government is stated to have taken a policy decision dated 7 March, 2024 whereby respondent no. 3 can grant appointment on compassionate grounds. There were certain further compliances which were undertaken by the petitioner, to which our attention is drawn to communication dated 31 May, 2024 (Exhibit ‘N’) and further communication dated 12 June, 2024 (Exhibit “O”). 3. The case of the petitioner is that although all requisite compliances have been made, his application has still not been considered. In these circumstances, the petitioner made a representation dated 14 October, 2024 requesting respondent no. 3 to decide his application for appointment on compassionate grounds. As there was no response, the present petition came to be filed on 29 January, 2025. 4. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and have perused the record. We find that the petitioner’s application dated 10 September, 2015 for appointment on compassionate grounds was diligently pursued by him and was made within time. It is also not the case of respondent no. 3 that it cannot consider the petitioner’s application for appointment on compassionate grounds. 5. In the aforesaid circumstances, learned counsel for the petitioner fairly submits that the respondents be directed to decide the petitioner’s application for appointment on compassionate grounds. In this view of the matter, we are inclined to dispose of this petition in terms of following order: 19 August 2026 WP 1285-25.DOC O R D E R (i) The petitioner’s application for appointment on compassionate grounds shall be decided by respondent no. 3 as expeditiously as possible, and in any event, within a period of four weeks from today. (ii) The petitioner shall approach the office of respondent no. 3 on 31 August, 2026 at 11 a.m. with a copy of this order. On such day, the petitioner be granted a hearing. Respondent No.3 shall be at liberty to call for any other information and fix a convenient date for any further hearing. (iii) Respondent No.3 shall take an appropriate decision on the application of the petitioner in accordance with law within a period of two weeks from 31 August 2026. (iv) All contentions of the parties in this regard are expressly kept open. 6. It is clarified that we have not delved on any of the issues except what we have observed hereinabove. 7. The petition stands disposed of in the aforesaid terms. No costs. (DR. NEELA GOKHALE, J.) (G. S. KULKARNI, J.) 19 August 2026