The Rajasthan High Court has asked a woman to pay 25 per cent of her salary to her in-laws, after she was found violating an affidavit she signed while taking up her late husband’s government job on compassionate grounds in 2017.
It also ordered an equal division of the terminal benefits payable to the late employee between his wife and his mother. The court asked the Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (AVVNL) to directly deposit 25 per cent of the widow’s salary to her mother-in-law’s bank account.
The late employee’s mother-in-law then filed a petition at the Rajasthan High Court, stating that shortly after securing the job, the woman had stopped caring for the in-laws. She further stated that the family was in financial distress after her son’s death, yet she did not receive any financial or other support despite the promises made before securing the job. Upon consultations, it was decided that the wife of the employee would take up the job, provided she would take responsibility for their maintenance and care. It observed that such an appointment should not be viewed merely as a personal benefit for the late employee’s wife, clarifying that the concept of ‘family’ is not limited to the widow alone. Advocate Amitraj Kaushal, representing the petitioner, stated that the court’s order was primarily based on the undertaking given by the woman at the time of securing the job.
The Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (AVVNL) had, in 2017, informed the family that, under government rules, a job could be offered to an eligible family member on compassionate grounds.
During the hearing of the case, the Rajasthan High Court noted that the objective of a compassionate appointment is to ease the immediate financial crisis of a government employee following their sudden demise.
