An employee appointed on compassionate grounds cannot be allowed to challenge later the seniority assigned once it is accepted unconditionally, the Central Administrative Tribunal has held.
"Compassionate appointments are certainly made for a particular purpose and if later the person is found unfit for the job, employer must also have rights," the principal bench of CAT, headed by Justice M Ramachandran, said.
The ruling came on an application of Savita Malhotra, an upper division clerk, posted at Railway Board in New Delhi, who had sought parity in seniority with other employees appointed through regular selection process.
Dismissing the application, the bench termed Malhotra's appointment due to sudden death of her husband as "purely ad hoc and not regular".
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