The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to examine whether the son of a married daughter is eligible for compassionate or rehabilitation employment, days after ruling that a dependent married daughter qualifies for such benefits when her father dies in harness.
Case Background
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and V Mohana sought a response from the Chhattisgarh government after petitioner Ankit Pandey challenged the state's decision to deny him government employment. Pandey's grandparents, whose family members became eligible under the compassionate rehabilitation scheme for project-affected persons, had submitted an affidavit in his favor.
Current Scheme Provisions
Under the scheme, a project-affected family includes the landowner's spouse, children, dependent parents, widowed mother or sister, and unmarried daughter. It does not cover a married daughter or her children.
The Supreme Court recently addressed the married daughter issue in a judgment, allowing a married daughter to receive a fair price shop after her mother's death, provided she was dependent on her parents.
Petitioner's Argument
Petitioner's counsel Abhinav Shrivastava argued that the Chhattisgarh government had appointed Suryadeep Tiwari, the son of another project-affected person's daughter. He claimed his client was identically placed and noted that the state's policy includes a daughter's son as part of the family.
The bench has given the Chhattisgarh government four weeks to file its response.
