Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 18

Manjit Kaur’s battle for justice began after her husband died while serving the armed forces in its mission to crack down on “revolutionary” ULFA militants during Operation Rhino. The state government granted her pecuniary benefits, but denied compassionate appointment, claiming the death was an accident.Nearly 16 years after the incident, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has rapped the State of Punjab for denying appointment to L/Nk Harinder Singh’s wife. Justice Rajiv Narain Raina directed the passing of a fresh reasoned order within two months, setting aside the impugned order dated August 14, 2008, vide which she was denied appointment to a post in the civil service.Manjit Kaur’s counsel Rajesh Sehgal contended that L/Nk Harinder Singh had died when his rifle went of accidentally during exchange of duty with another guard. On investigations, the Indian Army classified the accident as a “battle casualty”.Manji Kaur’s case was treated by the Punjab Government under the”battle casualty” category for financial benefits. She was given pecuniary benefits in terms of the “Rules for Administration of Punjab War Heroes Families Relief Fund” but denied appointment on compassionate grounds.Taking up the matter, Justice Raina asserted the State of Punjab was bound by the interpretation of the term “battle casualty.” It was not open to the state government to dissect the expression and break it up in two parts, one in the petitioner’s favour so far as pecuniary benefits were concerned, and the other diametrically opposite to deny her appointment.Mere payment of money would not foreclose her right to claim compassionate appointment. “I would accept the petitioner’s prayer for issuance of a writ to the respondent-State to consider her case for appointment by treating the death of her husband as battle casualty and not just battle accident.”The impugned order has been passed on bad reasoning and on an irrelevant consideration…,” Justice Raina concluded.