Appointment on Compassionate Grounds: RBE No.112/1985 – Time Limit

No.E(NG)II-84/RC1/26, dated 18.04.1985

Sub: Appointment on compassionate grounds – Time limit for appointment.

1. In para 1(2) of this Ministry’s letter No.E(NG)III-78/RC1/1, dated 30.04.1979 on the subject of compassionate appointments, it was laid down that in the case of staff who die in harness and where the widow cannot take up employment and sons/ daughters are minor, the case may be kept pending till the first son/ daughter becomes a major, i.e. attains the age of 18 years. However, such cases can be kept pending for a period of only five years, after which appointment on compassionate grounds will not be permissible. As an exception to this provision, the General Managers may personally authorize a realization of this limit of five years in deserving cases of employees whose cases fall under para 4(i) of the same letter.
2. Subsequently, in December 1980, the Railway Administrations were advised to the effect that in cases involving special circumstances they could, with the personal approval of the General Manager, approach this Ministry for relaxation of the limit of five years in other cases.
3. The question of delegation of powers to the General Managers for relaxation of the limit of five years in all cases has been engaging the attention of this Ministry for some time past. It has now been decided that in all cases of death of an employee while in service, compassionate appointment, as permissible under the extant instructions, could be approved by the General Managers even beyond the limit of five years, subject to the following conditions:-

(i) The powers shall be exercised personally by the General Manager. It shall not be delegated to a lower authority.
(ii) The case should not be more than ten years old as reckoned from the date of death.
(iii) The widow of the deceased employee should not have re-married.
(iv) The benefit of compassionate appointment should not have been given at any time to any other member of the family or to a near relative of the deceased employee.
(v) The circumstances, of the case should be such as to warrant relaxation of the time limit of five years.
(vi) The reasons for relaxing the time limit should be placed on record.
(vii) The request for compassionate appointment should have been received by the Railway Administration as soon as the son/ daughter to be considered for compassionate appointment has become a major, say within a maximum period of six months.

4. The Ministry of Railways have further decided that the delegation of powers as above will for the present be current upto 31st March 1987. The position will be reviewed some time at the beginning of 1987.
5. A record of such cases should be kept and the number of such requests considered during the 1985-86 and the number of appointments made [separately in Group C (Class III) and Group D (Class IV) categories] may be advised to this Ministry by 31st May 1986.

Download Railway Board Circular RBE No.112/1985

Forward reference ⇒ RBE No.81/1988,