After Joining As Peon On Compassionate Grounds, Man Cannot Get Assistant Grade-III Post Under State Policy: Chhattisgarh HC

The petitioner’s father, a Revenue Inspector with the Municipal Corporation, Birgaon, died in harness on 24 July 2025.

The petitioner was appointed as a Peon on compassionate grounds by order dated 5 May 2026 and accepted and joined the post.

He later sought a change to Assistant Grade-III, relying on his educational qualifications and the asserted availability of a post within the policy’s 10% limit for compassionate appointments to that grade.

The respondents opposed the request under Clause 20(1) of the applicable policy, which bars a request to change the post after compassionate appointment has been granted

Clause 20(1) of the applicable Compassionate Appointment Policy provides that, once compassionate appointment has been granted, a subsequent request for appointment to another post or for a change of the post offered shall not be accepted

A candidate has no right to compassionate appointment to a post of their choice; the competent authority determines the appointment having regard to relevant circumstances, including post availability (State of M.P. v. Ramesh Kumar Sharma, 1994 Supp. (3) SCC 661)

Further, once an applicant accepts and joins a compassionate appointment, they cannot subsequently seek a higher post on the same ground (I.G. (Karmik) v. Prahlad Mani Tripathi, (2007) 6 SCC 162)

The petitioner had already received compassionate appointment as a Peon and had accepted and joined that post. The Court held that Clause 20(1) expressly barred his later request to change posts.

His qualifications and reliance on the 10% limit did not overcome that prohibition or create a right to appointment to a post of his choice.

Applying the cited Supreme Court authorities, the Court concluded that he could not use the same compassionate-appointment claim to seek a higher post after accepting the post offered

The writ petition was dismissed at the motion stage as devoid of merit