PIL in HC against AAP's job offer to Rohith Vemula's brother

A public interest litigation has been moved in the Delhi high court against the Aam Aadmi Party government's decision to award a job on compassionate grounds to the brother of Rohith Vemula, a Hyderabad University Dalit scholar who had committed suicide in January.

The petition has challenged the AAP government's February 24 decision, notified on March 3, to award a group 'C' government job to Rohith's brother, Vemula Raja Chaithanya Kumar, as well as government accommodation on out of turn basis, saying it was "illegal, arbitrary and politically motivated".

As per the Cabinet, the decision was taken on a representation received from Rohith's brother seeking support for himself and his family by way of employment.

The petition contends that no such representation was received from Rohith's family.

The petitioner, advocate Avadh Kaushik, has alleged that the Cabinet decision was "illegal, arbitrary, motivated, discriminatory and unjustifiable and unfair exercise of discretion without any mandate of law, statute, policy and guidelines".

He has also contended that the decision was "in clear violation of law of land and public policy thereby infringing and abridging the legal and fundamental rights of the public at large in general and Delhi youth in particular who are trying to get the job on their own merits".

The matter was listed for hearing today before a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath. However, as the bench did not sit, the petition is listed for hearing on May 17.

The petition has contended there was no need to give a job on compassionate grounds to the kin of Rohith as he "was neither a resident of Delhi nor was a government employee under Delhi administration or for that matter, under any government organisation, and he was also not a student in any University/college connected or affiliated to Delhi in any manner and even no offence or any wrong act whatsoever had been committed against him in Delhi".

It also contended that there was "no rationality or public welfare in the impugned decision" as it was "a simple case of suicide" and "not a case of some special category of any kind of martyrdom or scarifying the life for any good cause".

The petition seeks quashing of the Cabinet decision and also setting aside of Rohith's brother's appointment, if he has already been appointed.

The PIL also seeks directions to Delhi government "to frame a proper and valid scheme, policy or guidelines for compassionate appointments and to implement the same in Delhi".