The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court delivered a significant ruling on April 24 regarding the eligibility of a 'widowed daughter-in-law' for compassionate appointment. The court determined that such eligibility must be assessed based on the date of the government employee's death, specifically stating that individuals who were not part of the family unit at that time cannot claim eligibility due to subsequent events like marriage or widowhood. The case involved Deepika Tiwari, who married Nikhil Bajpai, the son of deceased government employee Sangeeta Bajpai, two years after her death. Sangeeta passed away on April 23, 2021, and her son’s application for compassionate appointment was rejected on April 10, 2023, due to his status as a pensioner. Deepika applied for compassionate appointment after Nikhil's death on May 13, 2023, but her initial appointment order was revoked. The court upheld the dismissal of her appeal, reinforcing the requirement that eligibility is tied to the family status at the time of the employee's death.