Court in favor of daughters on compassionate appointment: Tripura HC said – marriage does not break the relationship between parents and daughters, it is wrong not to give them jobs in crisis

The court has also stood in favor of the daughters regarding the compassionate appointment (die-in-harness scheme). The Tripura High Court, during a hearing on Thursday, termed the disqualification of married daughters as discriminatory and violative of Articles 14-16 of the Constitution.

According to the news of Live Law, a bench of Chief Justice Inderjit Mahanti and Justice SG Chattopadhyay said that the daughter’s relationship with the parents does not break after marriage. It is wrong not to give them jobs in crisis.

The Bench, while giving relief to the petitioner (the aggrieved married daughters), said that the marriage does not break the bond between a daughter and her parents like it does not break the bond between a son and his parents. The distress of the parents’ family afflicts a married daughter equally.

Therefore, there is no rationale behind the exclusion of a married daughter from the scheme. Therefore, a die-in-harness scheme, since it disqualifies a married woman, while not so in the case of a married man, should be considered discriminatory and such a policy is subject to Articles 14 to 16 of the Constitution. and it cannot be held to be valid.

What is the whole matter?
Actually, the victim married daughters had filed a petition in the High Court against the officers of the state government for compassionate appointment. The single bench of the court had declared the exclusion of married daughters from the benefits of the scheme unconstitutional. Against this decision of the single bench, the appellants (state authorities) filed an appeal in the larger bench. A two-judge bench has also upheld the decision of the single bench.

What is Die-in-Harness Scheme?
Under the die-in-harness scheme, an eligible member of the dependent family of a deceased government employee is given a compassionate job. Married daughter is not included in this scheme, as a married daughter is not considered as a dependent family member. In the die-in-harness scheme, a married woman is considered ineligible for any financial benefits, while this is not the case with a married man.

What are the rules of Article 14-16?
The court has termed it wrong under Article 14-16 of the Constitution. Article 14 to Article 18 of the constitution mentions the right to equality. Article 14 gives a simple definition of the right to equality and sets out a hypothesis. Under Article 14, there is a prohibition on the division of people on the basis of birth, caste, race, religion, sex.

Article 15 provides that no person shall be discriminated against on any of these grounds. Article 16 guarantees equality of opportunity in matters of public employment. Under Article 16, it has been emphasized that the State shall not make any discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, place of birth and sex in matters of public employment.