W.P.(C) 13124/2026 Page 1 of 6 $~68 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI # CNR No. DLHC010425742026 + W.P.(C) 13124/2026 RAJ KUMARI .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Sandeep Sharma, Advocate. versus PUNJAB AND SIND BANK & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Rajat Arora, Mr. Niraj Kumar, Mr. Sourabh Mahla, Advocates. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJEEV NARULA O R D E R % 09.09.2026 1. The Petitioner had earlier approached this Court seeking a direction to the Respondent Bank to consider her representation for appointment on compassionate grounds. At that stage, the Court noted that the Bank was unable to process the Petitioner’s request on account of the absence of a No Objection Certificate1 from Respondent No. 2, the son of the deceased employee. 2. In those circumstances, this Court had passed the following order: “1. The Petitioner’s father was employed as a Sweeper-cum-Peon with Respondent No. 1 and died in harness on 10th January, 2018. The Petitioner thereafter applied for appointment on compassionate grounds, which stands declined by communication dated 12th December, 2025. Though the said communication was issued in Hindi, the translated version, undisputed between the parties, is reproduced below: 1 “NOC” This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 15/09/2026 at 12:20:55 W.P.(C) 13124/2026 Page 2 of 6 “Smt. Raj Kumari D/o Late Sh. Shripal 1788 B-Block, Ph. – 02, Metro Vihar Holambi Kalan North-West Delhi – 110082, Ma’am, Subject: Regarding appointment on compassionate grounds of Smt. Rajkumari D/o Late Sh. Shripal (Former Subordinate Employee). With reference to the above subject, you are informed that during the process of your application for appointment on compassionate grounds, a meeting was held on 14.11.2025 to obtain a No objection Certificate (NOC) in your favour from the legal heir of the Late Sh. Shripal, (former subordinate employee). In this meeting, both you and Sh. Amit son of Late Sh. Shripal were present. However, Sh. Amit Son of Late Sh. Shripal did not submit No Objection Certificate (NOC) in your favour, claiming his right to appointment on compassionate grounds. Consequently, No consensus could be reached between you and Sh. Amit son of Late Sh. Shripal, and we were unable to obtain the necessary No Objection Certificate (NOC) for your application. Given these circumstances, we inform you that as per bank guidelines, the process of your application for appointment on compassionate grounds cannot be furthered until all necessary conditions are met. Your sincerely Prem Shankar Singh Deputy General Manager.” 2. A careful reading of the above makes it evident that the Petitioner’s application has not been rejected on merits; rather, the process has been stalled owing to her inability to furnish a No Objection Certificate (“NOC”) from the other surviving legal heir, which is treated as a precondition under the governing policy. 3. In this context, the “Comprehensive Scheme for Appointment on Compassionate Grounds and Payment of Ex-Gratia Amount in Lieu of Appointment on Compassionate Grounds”, dated 16th July, 2018, assumes significance. A copy thereof has been handed over by counsel for the Respondents and is taken on record. Clause 2 of the Scheme defines ‘dependent family member’ as follows: “2. DEPENDENT FAMILY MEMBER: A) For appointment on Compassionate Grounds/payment of Ex- Gratia amount in lieu of appointments on compassionate grounds: 2.1 Spouse; or 2.2 Wholly dependent son (including legally adopted) or 2.3 Wholly dependent daughter (including legally adopted) or 2.4 Wholly dependent brother or sister in the case of unmarried employee.” To operationalise the above, the procedure prescribed in This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 15/09/2026 at 12:20:55 W.P.(C) 13124/2026 Page 3 of 6 Clauses 12 and 13 reads as under: “12. PROCEDURE a) The prescribed proformas (Annexure-1, part A-B) to be used by the bank for ascertaining necessary information and processing the cases of compassionate appointment. b) An Officer of the Bank should meet the members of the family of the employee in question immediately after his death to advise and assist them in getting appointment on compassionate ground. The applicant should be called in person at the very first stage and advised in person about the requirements and formalities to be completed by him/her. c) An application for appointment on compassionate ground should be considered by the Committee of officers consisting of three officers: one Chairman (of the committee)and two members in the rank of Deputy General Manager/Assistant General manager. The Officer from the staff welfare department may also be made one of the members of the Committee, depending upon his rank. The Committee may meet as and when required and dispose the application(s) received as on date of meeting. The applicant may also be granted personal hearing by the committee, if necessary, for better understanding of facts of the case. The recommendation of the committee should be placed before the Competent Authority for a decision. If the Competent Authority disagrees with the committee’s recommendation, the case may be referred to the higher authority for a decision. 13. UNDERTAKING FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE FAMILY OF THE DECEASED EMPLOYEE (IN CASE OF APPOINTMENTS ON COMPASSIONATE GROUNDS) The person appointed on compassionate grounds under the Scheme, should give an undertaking in writing (as per Annexure-3), that he/she will maintain properly the other family members who were dependent on the deceased employee in question. In case it is proved subsequently (at any time) that the family members are being neglected or are not maintained properly by him/her, his or her appointment may be terminated forthwith. This clause should be incorporated as one of the conditions in the offer of appointment.” 4. The Scheme, thus, contemplates a framework where the appointment is intended to benefit the family as a whole. The requirement of an NOC is rooted in ensuring consensus amongst eligible dependents, particularly since Clause 13 mandates an undertaking by the appointee to maintain all dependent family members. 5. The policy further underscores that failure to maintain such dependents may result in termination of the compassionate appointee. The underlying rationale, therefore, is to ensure that the benefit of compassionate appointment is channelled in a manner that serves the collective interest of the family, rather than individual preference. 6. In the present case, the dispute appears to stem from inter se differences between the Petitioner and her brother. It has been This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 15/09/2026 at 12:20:55 W.P.(C) 13124/2026 Page 4 of 6 submitted that the deceased had, during his lifetime, disowned the son. While this may explain the strained relations and the refusal to grant NOC, this Court, in exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, is primarily concerned with examining whether the decision of the Respondent Bank is arbitrary or contrary to the governing policy. 7. Upon consideration, this Court finds that any direction to process the Petitioner’s application in the absence of the requisite NOC would effectively amount to rewriting the terms of the Scheme, which is impermissible. The decision of the Respondent Bank, being in conformity with the policy framework, does not warrant interference. 8. It is, however, clarified that in the event the Petitioner is able to resolve the inter se dispute with her brother and obtain the requisite consent, she shall be at liberty to reapply. In such a situation, the Respondent Bank shall consider her application afresh in accordance with the applicable Scheme and take a decision expeditiously. 9. With the aforesaid observations, the present petition is disposed of along with pending application(s), if any.” 3. The earlier order proceeded on the basis that the Petitioner’s application could not be processed in the absence of the NOC of Respondent No. 2, who was then not seeking appointment himself. However, the position now placed before the Court is materially different. Counsel for the Petitioner submits that despite efforts, the dispute between the Petitioner and Respondent No. 2 could not be resolved. In fact, counsel for the Respondent Bank states that an application for compassionate appointment has also been received from Respondent No. 2 and that, under the applicable policy, only one member of the family can be considered for such appointment. 4. In view of the above, the issue is no longer confined to whether the Petitioner can be permitted to pursue her application in the absence of an NOC from Respondent No. 2. The Bank is now required to consider two competing applications for appointment on compassionate grounds. The first This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 15/09/2026 at 12:20:55 W.P.(C) 13124/2026 Page 5 of 6 question that would, therefore, arise is whether the Petitioner and Respondent No. 2 fulfil the requirements for such appointment under the applicable policy. 5. The question as to which of the two applicants fulfils the requirements for appointment on compassionate grounds, and, if both are found eligible, the manner in which their competing claims are to be dealt with, would have to be determined by the Respondent Bank in accordance with its applicable policy and guidelines. 6. These are matters which fall within the domain of the Respondent Bank and this Court, at this stage, does not consider it appropriate to express any opinion on the merits of the respective claims. Accordingly, the present petition is disposed of with a direction to Respondent No. 1 to consider the Petitioner’s application for appointment on compassionate grounds on its merits in accordance with the applicable policy and guidelines governing cases where more than one family member seeks such appointment. The Petitioner’s application shall be considered alongside the application of Respondent No. 2, and a decision shall thereafter be taken in accordance with the applicable policy and guidelines. 7. Since the directions issued by this Court are not adversarial in nature, no response from Respondent No. 2 has been called for. All rights and contentions of the Petitioner and Respondent No. 2 are left open. This Court has expressed no opinion on the merits of either claim. 8. The decision taken by the Respondent Bank shall be communicated to both the Petitioner and Respondent No. 2 within a period of six weeks from today. 9. With the aforesaid directions, the present petition is disposed of along This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 15/09/2026 at 12:20:55 W.P.(C) 13124/2026 Page 6 of 6 with the pending application(s), if any. SANJEEV NARULA, J SEPTEMBER 9, 2026/ab This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 15/09/2026 at 12:20:55