Observing that the presumption of death arises only after seven years from the date a person goes missing, the Supreme Court recently set aside an order of the Bombay High Court's Nagpur Bench which had directed the Municipal Corporation to grant compassionate appointment to the son of a missing employee who had retired from service before completion of the seven-year period required to presume civil death.

The Court held that since the employee's family had already accepted retirement and pensionary benefits, they could not subsequently claim compassionate appointment.

A bench of Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Prasanna B Varale heard the case, which involved one Gulab Mahagu Bawankule, a Nagpur Municipal Corporation employee who went missing on September 1, 2012 but was deemed in

See Full Page