Order : Challenging order dated 12/16.04.2011, the petitioner has approached this Court by filing the present writ petition. 2. Heard learned counsel appearing for the parties and perused the documents on record. 3. The father of the petitioner died on 17.08.2004. At the time of death of his father, the petitioner was aged about 14 years. The application seeking grant of monetary benefit or alternatively, compassionate appointment was rejected by the respondent-authority by order dated 10.08.2007. The petitioner approached this Court in W.P. (S) No. 5418 of 2010 and the impugned order dated 10.08.2007 was quashed by order dated 03.01.2011 passed in W.P. (S) No. 5418 of 2010 with a direction to the respondent no. 4 to consider the claim of the petitioner and pass a speaking order. 4. Pursuant to the order passed by this Court on 03.01.2011, order dated 12/16.04.2011 has been passed, which has been assailed by the petitioner in the present proceeding. 5. A counter-affidavit has been filed taking a stand that since the representation of the petitioner was submitted beyond prescribed period of 18 months, the claim of the petitioner has rightly been rejected. 6. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner has submitted that contents of letter dated 06.01.2004 of the respondent-BCCL directing the Personnel Manager/Area Manager to forward the name of the dependent of a deceased employee, would be binding on the respondent-BCCL. He has further submitted that in terms of Clause 9.5.0 of the National Coal Wages Agreement (NCWA) read with letter dated 06.01.2004, it was the duty of the respondent-BCCL to keep the name of the petitioner on live-roster and offer appointment to him on attaining majority and there is no requirement in law for a dependent, if the employee has died in harness, to submit a separate application seeking appointment on the compassionate ground. The learned counsel has thus, submitted that merely because the application seeking compassionate appointment on compassionate ground has been submitted beyond the period of 18 months, the claim of the petitioner could not have been rejected by the respondent-authority. 7. As against the above, Mr. Amit Kumar Sinha, the learned counsel appearing for the respondent-BCCL reiterated the stand taken in the counter-affidavit and supported the impugned order dated 12/16.04.2011. 7. As against the above, Mr. Amit Kumar Sinha, the learned counsel appearing for the respondent-BCCL reiterated the stand taken in the counter-affidavit and supported the impugned order dated 12/16.04.2011. He has submitted that the matter of appointment on compassionate ground would be regulated by the provisions under NCWA and since a period of 18 months has been prescribed for submitting the application seeking appointment on the compassionate ground, the claim of the petitioner has rightly been rejected by the respondent-authority. The learned counsel appearing for the respondents has relied on decision in “Mohan Mahto Vs. Central Coalfield Ltd. and Others”, report in (2007) 8 SCC 549 to contend that an application seeking appointment on compassionate ground should be made within a reasonable period. 8. A perusal of Clause 9.5.0 (iii) of NCWA-VI indicates that in case of death occurring due to mine accident or for some other reasons and in case of medical unfitness, if the deceased employee has left behind a surviving male dependent over age of 12 years, the male dependent would be kept on live-roster and he would be provided employment commensurate to his skill and qualification when he attains the age of 18 years. Instructions have been issued by letter dated 06.01.2004 whereunder a responsibility has been given to the Personnel Officer / Personnel Manager of the Unit /Area concerned, to take immediate steps for deletion of the name of the deceased employee from the pay-roll of the company and also to inform the headquarter, the name of the dependents of the deceased employee. 9. Though, a period of 18 months has been prescribed for making application by the dependents of the deceased employee from the date of death or disablement, a conjoint reading of the provision under Clause 9.5.0 (iii) and the letter dated 06.01.2004 would indicate that the respondent-authority namely, Personnel Officer/Personnel Manager of the area concerned is under a duty to immediately intimate the name of the dependents of the deceased employee to the headquarter and thus, the name of the deceased employee's male dependent would be automatically entered in the live-roster, if he is eligible. The purpose of making such a provision appears to be that the family of the deceased employee should not suffer due to ignorance. The purpose of making such a provision appears to be that the family of the deceased employee should not suffer due to ignorance. Under the provision of NCWA-VI, the male dependent of the deceased employee above the age of 12 years is kept on live-roster and I do not find any provision either in the impugned order or in the counter-affidavit whereby and whereunder the male dependent of the deceased employee is required to make an application, for being enrolled on live-roster. There is no provision in the Clause 9.5.0 (iii) of NCWA-VI which requires a minor to make an application for keeping himself on the live-roster till he attains the age of 18 years. The absence of such an express provision in the NCWA-VI appears to be well-thought of and thus, intentional. Therefore, putting an additional condition for such male dependents of a deceased employee for making application within 18 months as contained in letter dated 06.01.2004 would be contrary to the intention of the parties which is reflected in Clause 9.5.0 (iii) of NCWA-VI. Once the name of the minor male dependent of the deceased employee is found in the service-book and he has been kept on live-roster, there is no requirement indicated in the NCWA that an application seeking appointment on compassionate ground should be submitted by such male dependent of the deceased employee. In letter 06.01.2004, though, a period of 18 months has been indicated for making an application seeking appointment on compassionate ground, in my opinion it is not attracted in the case of a minor male dependant whose name find place in the service-record of the deceased employee. The requirement of making application within 18 months is attracted in cases where, (a) the dependent has crossed the age of 18 years, or (b) the name of the dependant/dependants does not find place in the service-record of the deceased employee. The provision under letter dated 06.01.2004 which requires a male dependant above 12 years to submit application for compassionate appointment within 18 months is contrary to the provision contained under Clause 9.5.0 (iii) of the NCWA-VI. The NCWA has acquired the status of statutory provision. A Tripartite agreement was signed between the respondent-company, the Government of India and the workers' Union. The provision contained in NCWA thus, cannot be modified or amended without the consent of other parties to the agreement. The NCWA has acquired the status of statutory provision. A Tripartite agreement was signed between the respondent-company, the Government of India and the workers' Union. The provision contained in NCWA thus, cannot be modified or amended without the consent of other parties to the agreement. Moreover, by an executive order the provision of NCWA can only be supplemented and/or clarified. However, the requirement of submitting application within 18 months as contained in letter dated 06.01.2004 cannot be said to be clarificatory in so far as, it relates to male dependants above 12 years whose name is required to be forwarded to head-quarters by the Personnel Officer / Personnel Manager. Clause 9.5.0 (iii) of NCWA-VI does not provide that the made dependent above 12 years should also submit application. In my opinion if the name of a male dependant is recorded in the service-record of the deceased employee and he is above 12 years, since the local officer is under a duty to communicate the name of the dependents to the Head-quarters, there is no requirement in law for a male dependent to make a separate application seeking appointment within 18 month of the death of the employee. In many cases the male dependent may not even attain the age of 18 years within 18 months of death of the deceased employee. 10. Though, the respondent-BCCL has rightly provided a period for submitting application for compassionate appointment which would be applicable in cases noticed herein-above, however, the very object for which the time-limit is prescribed, gets frustrated if compassionate appointment is denied on artificial technical grounds. I find that the earlier order dated 10.08.2007 rejecting the claim of the petitioner as belated was quashed by this Court in W.P. (S) no. 5418 of 2010 and therefore, on the same ground the application seeking appointment on compassionate ground preferred by the petitioner could not have been rejected by the respondent-authority. 11. An application seeking appointment on compassionate ground must be decided as early as possible. However, the application of the petitioner was kept pending for years altogether and even after interference by this Court, the said application has been rejected on the same ground that, it was preferred beyond the period of 18 months. I find no justification in the impugned order dated 12/16.04.2011 for rejecting the claim of the petitioner and therefore, the impugned order dated 12/16.04.2011 is hereby quashed. I find no justification in the impugned order dated 12/16.04.2011 for rejecting the claim of the petitioner and therefore, the impugned order dated 12/16.04.2011 is hereby quashed. The respondent no. 4 is directed to take a decision afresh on the claim of the petitioner and the inquiry would be confined only to the eligibility of the petitioner for appointment on Class-IV post. 12. With the aforesaid direction, this writ petition is disposed of.