Archive · 3 Sep 2026
Madhya Pradesh High Court Rejects Marital Bar to Compassionate Appointment
Shashi Prabha asked for a government job after her father died while he was employed.
Her request was rejected because she was married when he died.
She later became divorced.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court said marital status alone cannot be used to reject her request.
The court referred to an earlier full-bench ruling that called an unmarried-daughter requirement unfair.
It cancelled the earlier rejection.
Officials must now look at her application again using the relevant policy.
They must do this within three months.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court quashed the rejection of Shashi Prabha’s compassionate appointment application.
Officials had rejected her claim because she was married when her father died.
Shashi Prabha’s father died while employed in 2007, and she was later divorced.
The court said excluding a daughter solely for being married was arbitrary and discriminatory.
The application must be reconsidered under policy guidelines within three months.
- Who
- Shashi Prabha, the daughter of a deceased employee, challenged the rejection; Justice Deepak Khot heard the plea.
- What
- The Madhya Pradesh High Court quashed the rejection of her compassionate appointment claim and ordered fresh consideration.
- When
- Her father died in 2007; the court issued its order on August 31.
- Where
- The Madhya Pradesh High Court.
- Why
- The court held that rejecting her application solely because she was married when her father died was arbitrary and discriminatory.
Petitioner’s Position
State’s Position
Effect of marital status
Petitioner’s Position
Shashi Prabha argued that her application should not be denied because she was married when her father died and later became divorced.
State’s Position
The State contended that her marriage at the time of her father’s death meant she was not entitled to compassionate appointment.
- Petitioner
- Shashi Prabha
- Type of claim
- Compassionate appointment following her father’s death
- Father’s death
- 2007, while he was employed
- Reason for original rejection
- She was married when her father died and was later divorced
- Court’s finding
- A condition requiring a daughter to be unmarried was described as arbitrary and discriminatory
- Outcome
- Rejection quashed and application remanded for fresh consideration
- Deadline
- Reconsideration must occur within three months