It also said that every appointment to public office must be made by strictly adhering to the mandatory requirements of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.

"An exception by providing employment on compassionate grounds has been carved out in order to remove the financial constraints on the bereaved family, which has lost its bread earner," the bench said.

The Bank had said during pendency of Singh's application, a new scheme dated June 12, 2006 came into force with effect from October 6, 2006 which provided that all applications pending on the date of commencement of the scheme shall be considered for grant of ex-gratia payment to the family instead of compassionate appointment.

This contention was rejected by the High Court which said the cause of action, i.e. death of the employee, had arisen prior to the commencement of the new scheme and, therefore, the case was to be considered as per the then existing scheme which provided for compassionate appointment and not for grant of ex-gratia payment.

The apex bench also said that Singh may apply for consideration of his case under the new scheme and the Bank should consider his case in accordance with the rules of the scheme within a period of three months from the date of receiving application.

Read More:

India's 10 Most Admired Employers

Premier Educational Hubs of India