Justice Suraj Govindaraj requested the Managing Director of NWKRTC to look into these kind of matters to formulate an appropriate humane policy, which would be in the best interest of the employees and their family members in the event of the employee expiring during the course of employment.
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The High Court of Karnataka has directed the North-West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) to appoint on compassionate ground a 48-year-old widow to a Group D post considering it as a special case even though she has crossed the upper age limit of 45 years when she had applied for the appointment.
The court considered it as a special case as Lakshmavva of Gadag, who had lost her husband who was employed in NWKRTC, had no means to earn a livelihood. The couple have no children, who could have been considered for appointment instead of her as she had crossed the age limit for the post.
While allowing her plea for appointment on compassionate grounds, Justice Suraj Govindaraj requested the Managing Director of NWKRTC to look into these kind of matters to formulate an appropriate humane policy, which would be in the best interest of the employees and their family members in the event of the employee expiring during the course of employment.
“The purpose of appointing a person on a compassionate basis is to ensure that the livelihood of the dependants of the deceased employee continues without any hardship, without any problem and offers security to an employee that even after his expiry, his dependants would be taken care of by the employer,” the court observed.
After the death of her husband, Ms. Lakshmavva had submitted an application to the corporation seeking appointment on compassionate grounds but it was rejected since, on the date of the application, she was aged 45 years 7 months, and hence did not qualify.
Published – August 22, 2025 10:22 am IST
