In Brief
The father of the respondent, a Ministry of Information and Broadcasting employee, died in 1996. The respondent's mother sought compassionate appointment in 1997, and this was rejected. Over a decade later, in 2007, the respondent moved the Central Administrative Tribunal. The Tribunal and later the High Court directed reconsideration, but the claim remained pending for over twenty years. The Supreme Court held that compassionate appointment is intended to relieve immediate financial crisis upon an employee's death, not provide delayed livelihood. The excessive delay of over a decade before seeking relief, combined with the three-year statutory limit under the scheme, rendered the claim stale and ineligible. The Court set aside the High Court's mandamus and upheld the Tribunal's dismissal, allowing the appeal.
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