Rajasthan High Court Reprieve To Anganwadi Worker Not Granted Appointment Letter Since 2016 Due To Lapse By Gram Panchayat
Nupur Agrawal
4 Dec 2024 11:00 AM IST
Rajasthan High Court provided relief to a successful candidate for the post of Anganwari worker, who although was declared as meritorious in the selection list in 2016, owing to inaction on part of the Gram Panchayat, did not receive any appointment letter till date.
The bench of Justice Arun Monga held that the petitioner could not be made to face adverse consequences for inaction or ministerial lapse on part of the Gram Panchayat and she could not be denied of her merit merely for a procedural aid.
The Court was hearing a writ petition filed by the petitioner who was declared meritorious in the selection process of the Anganwari Workers in 2016. However, the Gram Panchayat failed to follow the prescribed procedure as per which it had to convey the selection list to the Vikas Adhikari as well as the Project Officers, Integrated Child Development Scheme, and complete the process of filling the Post within the prescribed time limit of 3 months.
Consequently, since no such list was received, the Project Officers issued a fresh advertisement inviting applications for the same post in 2017. Hence, the petition was moved before the Court.
After perusing the case file, the Court observed that the fault had been deemingly admitted by the Gram Panchayat. However, there was no dispute regarding the eligibility and the merit of the petitioner, and it was held that,
“whether the petitioner can be put to adverse consequences for inaction on the part of the Gram? Answer clearly is in the negative…am of the opinion that the petitioner cannot be denied of performance of her merit merely for a procedural aid and ministerial lapse on part of the Gram Panchayat.”
In this background, the Court directed that the petitioner's candidature shall be considered for the post within 30 days, and if no post was available, then she shall be considered in the selection process on next vacancy.
It was also ruled that since her age had exceeded during the proceedings, she shall be given age relaxation whenever her candidature was considered for the post.
Title: Bhawna Bohra v State of Rajasthan & Ors.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Raj) 380
