Madras High Court criticizes the National Highways Department for a 34-month delay in processing a widow’s compassionate job application. The court says corruption is widespread in every part of the government.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court strongly criticized the National Highways Department for delaying a widow’s request for a compassionate government job by nearly 34 months. The court expressed serious concern about corruption in government offices and called it a major problem in the system.
The case was heard by a division bench of Justices R. Subramanian and G. Arul Murugan. They were dealing with a writ appeal filed by a man named Gowdham. He wanted a government job under compassionate grounds after his father, who worked as a record clerk in the Highways Department, passed away in 2016.
At that time, Gowdham was still a minor. So, his mother, Tmt. Amudha, applied for the job in January 2018. But the department shockingly took 34 months to respond. The court pointed out that there was no reason given for such a long delay.
When the department finally replied in October 2020, they asked for new certificates like income and education proof, even though the required documents were already submitted before. Due to this unnecessary delay, Amudha then decided to nominate her son Gowdham for the job.
By that time, Gowdham had become an adult and completed his education. He applied in his own name in November 2022. But the department rejected his request, saying that the application was filed after the three-year deadline for compassionate jobs. A single judge bench had earlier agreed with this rejection.
When the matter went to the division bench, the judges strongly criticized the way the system was functioning. They mentioned how officers asked again for documents they already had, which caused extra trouble and delays.
They also referred to another similar case, P. Pappu vs. The Sub Registrar, Rasipuram SRO, Rasipuram, Namakkal District, where it was said that people often have to pay bribes to get even basic government documents.
In this case too, the court noted,
“By requiring the mother to get fresh certificates, the Divisional Engineer has only paved the way for the officers in charge of issuing such certificates to get illegal gratification once over again.”
They further added,
“We have to acknowledge that corruption is rampant in every organ of the Government today. Requiring a person who seeks compassionate appointment to get three certificates once over again, we are sure, is only with the object of facilitating collection of illegal gratification by those officers.”
The court also shared its disappointment that it cannot easily stop such widespread corruption, saying it feels helpless in this fight.
It stated,
“Helplessness in curbing the menace of corruption”.
In the end, the court decided that since Amudha had already applied within the right time and submitted all necessary documents, the department must give her the compassionate job within four weeks, based on her qualifications.
But the court also said that the son’s application could not be accepted. Since he became an adult after the three-year limit ended, his request was too late as per the rules.
CASE TITLE:
Gowdham Vs. The Director General, National Highways Department, Chennai and Others
Would You Like Assistance In Drafting A Legal Notice Or Complaint?
CLICK HERE
Click Here to Read Our Reports on Corruption
FOLLOW US ON YOUTUBE FOR MORE LEGAL UPDATES
