1. This writ petition was initially filed challenging the communication dated 18.07.2011, by which, the respondent – Bank had rejected the claim of the petitioners for payment of ex-gratia amount on the death of N.Satyanarayana Rao, the husband of the 1st petitioner and the father of petitioners 2 and 3.

2. As on the date of filing of the petition, under the Scheme of the Bank, on the death of an employee, only ex-gratia payment was permissible. However, during the pendency of the writ petition, the Union Government examined the proposal of the Indian Bankers’ Association to revise the Compassionate Appointment Scheme in Public Sector Banks and conveyed its approval to open the compassionate appointment in Public Sector Banks in line with that of the Central Government and to discontinue the provision of ex-gratia in lieu of compassionate appointment. 3. The Indian Bankers’ Association was called upon to take appropriate action to circulate the revised Scheme to all the Public Sector Banks for adoption of the same with the approval of their respective Boards and it was clarified that the Scheme would be applicable from 05.08.2014. On the basis of this approval, the Indian Bankers’ Association forwarded the revised Compassionate Appointment Scheme in Public Sector Banks to all the Banks and directed the Banks to open the compassionate appointment in Public Sector Banks on the lines of the Central Government and to discontinue the provisions of ex-gratia in lieu of compassionate appointment.

4. The Scheme of Compassionate Appointment in Public Sector Banks, which was approved by the Central Government on 05.08.2014, provided for considering the cases of all dependents of a deceased employee in the event of an employee having passed away five years prior to the Scheme.

5. The relevant clause fixing the time limit for considering the application reads as follows:

“8. TIME LIMIT FOR CONSIDERING APPLICATIONS

8.1 Application for employment under the Scheme form eligible dependent should normally be considered upto five years from the date of death or retirement on medical grounds and decision to be taken on merit in each case.

8.2 However, Bank can consider request for compassionate appointment even when the death or retirement on medical grounds of the employee took place long bank, even five years ago. While considering such belated requests, it should, however, be kept in view that the concept of compassionate appointment is largely related to the need for immediate assistance to the family of the employee in order to relieve it from economic distress. The very fact that the family has been able to manage somehow all these years should normally be taken as adequate proof that the family had some dependable means of subsistence. Therefore, examination of such cases would call for a great deal of circumspection. The decision to make appointment on compassionate grounds in such cases may, therefore, be taken only at the Board level.”

6. Thus, as per the Scheme, even in respect of employees who had passed away five years prior to 05.08.2014, the scheme became eligible for being considered for appointment on compassionate grounds.

7. In light of this revised Scheme, the petitioners sought and were granted an amendment to the writ petition, whereby, an additional prayer reserving liberty to the petitioners to make a request for appointment on compassionate ground under the revised Scheme and to seek a mandamus to the Bank to consider their case were also granted.

8. The respondent – Bank, however, while adopting the revised Scheme, has proceeded to impose an applicable date to the Scheme, which was not available under the Scheme approved by the Union Government. The relevant clause, by which an applicable date was fixed, reads as follows:

"4. Applicable Date:

4.1 The Scheme is applicable to cases where death/medical retirement occurred on or after 05.08.2014.”

9. Thus, though the Scheme approved by the Union Government provided for the dependents of the deceased, who had died five years prior to 2018 to also seek for appointment under the revised Scheme, the respondent – Bank, by enforcing the applicable date, basically removed all those dependents of employees, who had died five years prior to 05.08.2014 from the zone of consideration under the Scheme and made it applicable only to those employees who passed away after 05.08.2014.

10. It is to be stated here that once the Union Government conveyed the approval to the proposal of a specific Scheme and directed the Indian Bankers’ Association to circulate the same amongst all the Banks for its adoption by their respective Board, the Board cannot there after alter the approved Scheme and fix parameters which were not stipulated in the revised Scheme approved by the Union Government.

11. As stated earlier, by fixing the applicable date, the Board of the Bank basically obliterated the time limit fixed under Clause 8.1 of the Scheme approved by the Union Government and restricted the applicability of the Scheme to only those employees who passed away after 05.08.2014. Obviously, such a course of action by the Bank was not permissible when the Bank was simply required to adopt the revised Scheme approved by the Union Government. In this view of the matter, by virtue of Clause 8.1 of the revised Scheme approved by the Union Government and notwithstanding the imposition of applicable date by the respondent – Bank in its Scheme, the respondent – Bank would now have to consider the case of the petitioners for appointment under the revised Scheme as approved by the Union Government.

12. In this regard, the petitioners are permitted to make a fresh representation narrating their grievances and seeking an appointment on compassionate grounds. On such representation being filed, the respondent – Bank shall consider the same in accordance with the Scheme approved by the Union Government within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.

13. Writ Petition is accordingly disposed off.