Neutral Citation No. 2025:JHHC:17323-DB IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI L.P.A. No. 533 of 2024 Bindu Kumari, aged about 38 years, daughter of Late Ishun Ram and Late Tara Devi, resident of House No. 53, Block-D, Bhuli Nagar, P.O. Bhuli, P.S. Dhanbad, District Dhanbad ... ... Appellant Versus 1. Bharat Cocking Coal Limited (BCCL) through its Chairman-cum- Managing Director, having its office at Koyala Bhawan, Koyala Nagar, P.O. & P.S. & District Dhanbad 2. Director Personnel, BCCL, Dhanbad, P.O. & P.S. & District Dhanbad 3. Project Officer, Sendra, Bansjora Colliery, Sijua Region-V, BCCL, Dhanbad, P.O. & P.S. Sijua, District Dhanbad. … Respondents --- CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE RONGON MUKHOPADHYAY HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMBUJ NATH For the Appellants : Mr. R.S. Mazumdar, Sr. Advocate Mrs. Neeharika Mazumdar, Advocate For the Respondents : Mr. A.K. Das, Advocate --- Order No. 15 Dated 01st July, 2025 Rongon Mukhopadhyay, J.: Heard Mr. R.S. Mazumdar, learned senior counsel appearing for the appellant and Mr. A.K. Das, learned counsel appearing for the respondents. This appeal is directed against the order dated 27.08.2024 passed by the learned Single Judge in W.P.(S) No. 3073 of 2022, whereby and whereunder, the writ application preferred by the writ petitioner/appellant for grant of compassionate appointment to her has been rejected. The factual aspects of the case reveal that the father of the writ petitioner, namely, Kishun Ram was employed in Sendra, Bansjora Colliery, Sijua Region of M/s. BCCL who died while coming to his duty in a company bus which collided with a goods train in Renguni Railway Crossing on 25.12.1998. The mother of the writ petitioner, namely, Tara Devi was appointed as a Fan Operator, Sendra, Bansjora Colliery, Sijua Region of M/s. BCCL who also had died in harness on 28.12.2019. It is the case of the writ petitioner that she had to look after her ailing mother on account of the sudden demise of her father which led to a difference between her and her husband and finally she had obtained divorce from her husband by mutual consent. In order to be appointed on a compassionate basis, the writ Neutral Citation No. 2025:JHHC:17323-DB petitioner had made several representations which were sent to the Area Office and finally vide letter bearing reference No. SB/SA/PD/2021/15/733 dated 25.06.2021, the prayer of the writ petitioner for grant of compassionate appointment was rejected on the ground that there is no provision for a divorced daughter of a deceased employee in the National Coal Wage Agreement (NCWA) to be provided with compassionate appointment. Being aggrieved with such decision of the management of M/s. BCCL, the writ petitioner had preferred W.P.(S) No. 3073 of 2022 which was dismissed on 27.08.2024 and which is the order impugned to the present appeal. Mr. R.S. Mazumdar, learned senior counsel appearing for the appellant/ writ petitioner has submitted that the entitlement of the writ petitioner to be granted compassionate appointment on account of death of her mother flows from the Implementation Instruction No. 16 which has given a wide amplitude to the definition of a dependent and which includes a daughter irrespective of the marital status. Since the writ petitioner is a divorced lady, the Implementation Instruction No. 16 generates her eligibility to be appointed on compassionate ground in M/s. BCCL. It has therefore been submitted that the learned Single Judge had not considered appropriatly the Implementation Instruction No. 16 while rejecting the claim of the writ petitioner for grant of compassionate appointment. Mr. Amit Kumar Das, learned counsel appearing for the respondents has submitted that though an instruction has been formulated which would include a daughter of a deceased employee irrespective of her marital status, but the same has not yet been incorporated in the NCWA and therefore no cognizance can be taken of the Implementation Instruction No. 16 dated 11.06.2024. It has further been submitted that as on the date of death of the mother of the writ petitioner, the provisions of NCWA did not include within its ambit a divorced daughter and since the law as on the date when the claim had surfaced would prevail, the writ petitioner does not have any case and therefore, the impugned order dated 27.08.2024 passed in W.P.(S) No. 3073 of 2022 does not call for any interference. It would appear that the claim for compassionate appointment as per the appellant/ writ petitioner came into being after 28.12.2019 on account of Page|2 Neutral Citation No. 2025:JHHC:17323-DB the death of her mother who was working in M/s. BCCL as a Fan Operator in Sendra, Bansjora Colliery, Sijua Region of M/s. BCCL. It is an admitted fact that at the time when the death of the mother of the writ petitioner occurred while she was in service, the guidelines/ rules which were prevalent did not include a divorced daughter of a deceased employee to be considered for grant of compassionate appointment. Subsequently on 11.06.2024 by way of Implementation Instruction No. 16 dated 11.06.2024, the definition of a dependent for the purpose of grant of employment as per clause 9.3.0 of NCWA included spouse or son or daughter or transgender child or legally adopted son/ daughter/ transgender child, irrespective of marital status. The Implementation Instruction No. 16 dated 11.06.2024 is the fulcrum upon which the claim of the writ petitioner revolves. However, as we have noticed above, the Implementation Instruction No. 16 is dated 11.06.2024 and was much after the death of the mother of the writ petitioner. This Implementation Instruction No. 16 dated 11.06.2024 as stated by the learned counsel for the respondents has not yet been incorporated in the NCWA. In the context of a retrospective applicability of a policy decision/ guidelines reference be made to the case of State of Madhya Pradesh and others v. Ashish Awasthi reported in (2022) 2 SCC 157 wherein it has been held as follows: 5. As per the settled proposition of law laid down by this Court for appointment on compassionate ground, the policy prevalent at the time of death of the deceased employee only is required to be considered and not the subsequent policy. In the case of Director of Treasuries in Karnataka and another v. V. Somyashree reported in (2021) 12 SCC 20 it has been held as follows: 10. The law laid down by this Court in N.C. Santhosh on grant of appointment on compassionate ground can be summarised as under: 10.1. That the compassionate appointment is an exception to the general rule. 10.2. That no aspirant has a right to compassionate appointment. 10.3. The appointment to any public post in the service of the State has to be made on the basis of the principle in accordance with Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. Page|3 Neutral Citation No. 2025:JHHC:17323-DB 10.4. Appointment on compassionate ground can be made only on fulfilling the norms laid down by the State's policy and/or satisfaction of the eligibility criteria as per the policy. 10.5. The norms prevailing on the date of the consideration of the application should be the basis for consideration of claim for compassionate appointment. What can be culled out from the aforesaid judgments is that it would be impermissible in law to claim compassionate appointment on the basis of a subsequent policy decision. The same matrix can be applied to the present case as the consideration for grant of compassionate appointment was made much earlier to the Implementation Instruction No. 16 dated 11.06.2024 issued by the Joint Bipartite Committee for the Coal Industries. The learned Single Judge was therefore correct in not acceding to the prayer of the writ petitioner while dismissing the same vide order dated 27.08.2024. We, accordingly, do not find any merit in this Letters Patent Appeal which consequently stands dismissed. (RONGON MUKHOPADHYAY, J.) MK (AMBUJ NATH, J.) Page|4