4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Aug 21, 2026 12:57 PM IST
Jharkhand High Court news: The Jharkhand High Court has directed the Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation to appoint the married daughter of a late employee on compassionate grounds, noting that she was living with her elderly mother who had donated a kidney to her husband, and that the young woman’s brothers were allegedly not supporting their mother financially.
Justice Deepak Roshan held that the fact that the younger woman’s husband had a meagre income did not mean that she was not dependent on her father, and her marital status alone could not defeat her claim when dependency was otherwise established.
“The petitioner (daughter) is entitled for the appointment on compassionate ground in place of her deceased father in view of the fact that the petitioner has been wholly dependent on the said government servant at the time of his death in harness, she has no independent source of income of her own to maintain and sustain herself and her old kidney donor mother who is also the widow of the deceased employee, and she is also ready to support her dependent mother,” the August 12 order read.
Claim rejected as she was married
The woman claimed that her father, Arjun Prasad, who worked as an assistant at the coal mines in Dhanbad, died in harness on November 25, 2013, leaving behind his wife, daughter (herself) and his two sons. After several representations for the claim of compassionate appointment, the late employee’s wife was informed in July 2017 that the daughter’s claim to the job was rejected on the ground that she is married.
Aggrieved, she moved the Jharkhand High Court in 2023. The court gave her liberty to submit a fresh representation, but during contempt proceedings arising from alleged non-compliance, the company rejected her claim again in February 2024. She then approached the court again challenging the rejection.
Justice Deepak Roshan noted that the deceased employee’s daughter and wife survived on the pension amount from the mines.
‘Mother too aged to work’
The woman was represented by advocate Ratnesh Kumar, who argued that the mother of the petitioner, being an aged lady and kidney donor to her husband, was not in a position to work in the coal mines.
It was added that she had nominated her daughter for a compassionate appointment as the latter was still dependent on her father even after her marriage, due to her husband’s meagre income.
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Representing the coal mines, advocate Prashant Kr Singh submitted that the company decided that the daughter was not wholly dependent on her father, as she was already married at the time of the father’s death, her husband is earning, and her two brothers are also in service.
No support from brothers: HC
The high court noted that the daughter and her mother lived together and both survived on the little pension amount from the mines, due to the low financial capacity of her husband. It also noted that the woman’s brothers refused to look after the mother and lived independently.
The court found that the daughter and mother consistently stated that the latter was wholly dependent on her father even after getting married. “As a matter of fact, the respondents have misinterpreted the fact that just because the husband of the petitioner was having little source of income would imply that the petitioner was not fully dependent on her father, inasmuch as, the marital status by itself cannot defeat a claim where dependency is established,” it added.
Referring to the material placed on record, the court found that the daughter was wholly dependent on the late employee, who used to take care of her and her children. The high court thus directed the company to appoint the daughter as per the prescribed rules and laws of compassionate appointment within eight weeks.
Justice Deepak Roshan noted that the deceased employee’s daughter and wife survived on the pension amount from the mines.