The High Court
Case Details
1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI W.P. (S) No.6275 of 2018 ----- Lalmani Devi .......... Petitioner. -Versus- 1. The State of Jharkhand 2. Deputy Commissioner, Ranchi. 3. Child Development Project Officer, Angara, Ranchi. 4. Block Development Officer, Angara, Ranchi. ----- .......... Respondents. CORAM : HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH SHANKAR ----- For the Petitioner : : For the State
Legal Reasoning
Mr. Ziaul Haque , Advocate Mr. Ajay Kumar Jha, A.C. to G.P.VI ----- Order No.10 Date: 13.12.2023 1. The present writ petition has been filed for issuance of direction upon the respondents to appoint the petitioner as Anganbari Sevika of Kankatta village under Angara block, as according to her she was properly selected in the ‘Aam Sabha’ of the said village held on 23rd February, 2018. 2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that an Aam Sabha was held in Kankatta village on 23rd February, 2018 under the chairmanship of Gram Pradhan for selection of Anganbari Sevika. In the said Aam Sabha, the petitioner was selected on the said post by following the due procedure. 3. It is further submitted that the petitioner is the resident of the said village and she belongs to Schedule Tribe community. She passed matriculation examination from Government Sanskrit High School and as such she possessed due educational qualification and other requirements for being appointed as Anganbari Sevika. However, after selection, to her dismay, the respondent no.3 did not take any further step for issuance of appointment letter in her favour. Aggrieved with the said 2 situation, the petitioner represented the respondent no.2, however, the said respondent also did not respond to the same, which has compelled the petitioner to prefer the present writ petition. 4. Mr. Ajay Kumar Jha, learned A.C. to G.P.VI, while referring to the supplementary counter affidavit dated 17th August, 2023 filed on behalf of the respondent nos.1 to 3, submits that a letter dated 27th February, 2018 was sent to the respondent nos.2 and 4, whereby it was informed by the local residents that the candidate, namely, Lalmani Devi (petitioner herein) was selected as Anganbari Sevika in Aam Sabha held on 23rd February, 2018 under the Chairmanship of Gram Pradhan, namely, Mansa Munda, however, he was neither the member of selection committee nor had any authority to select Anganbari Sevika for Kankatta centre. Thus, the petitioner was illegally selected by the said Gram Pradhan. As per the guidelines issued vide letter no.585 dated 2nd June, 2006 by the Department of Social Welfare, Women and Child Development, Government of Jharkhand, Ranchi to all Deputy Commissioners/Deputy Development Commissioners of the State of Jharkhand, a selection committee for selection of Anganbari Sevika/Sahayika was to be constituted consisting of one Chairperson and four members i.e. Child Development Project Officer as Chairperson and Lady Supervisor In-charge of concerned Anganbari Centre, Mukhiya of the Panchayat in which concerned Anganbari centre is situated, ANM (Auxiliary Nurse & Midwife) or Lady Health Visitor of the concerned 3 Anganbari centre (any one of them), the Headmaster of Middle/Primary School situated within the concerned Anganbari centre (if more than one school, one headmaster to be nominated by the CDPO) as members. 5. It is further submitted that the Gram Pradhan has no authority to conduct Aam Sabha for selection of Anganbari Sevika/ Sahayika of Anganbari Centre. The selection has to be made only by conducting a meeting of ‘Aam Sabha’ under the Chairmanship of Child Development Project Officer. In fact, the Gram Pradhan is not the member of the said committee. 6. It is also submitted that not a single member of the committee has signed the minutes of the meeting of Aam Sabha held on 23rd February, 2018 by the Gram Pradhan as per the selection procedure prescribed in the aforesaid departmental letter. Therefore, the entire process of Aam Sabha is inappropriate in terms with the said letter dated 2nd June, 2006. 7. learned counsel for the respondents further submits that the petitioner along with ten other candidates subsequently appeared in the selection process and as per educational qualifications, one Lakhimani Devi, wife of Hari Krishna Munda has been selected by the Aam Sabha held on 6th January, 2021 as Anganbari Sevika for the said Anganbari Centre, as she possesses the educational qualification of Bachelor of Arts whereas the petitioner possesses the educational qualification of Intermediate only. Accordingly, the appointment letter vide memo no.34 dated 29th January, 2021 has been issued in 4 favour of Lakhimani Devi under the signature of the Child Development Project Officer, Angara, Ranchi. 8. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and from the aforesaid averments made in the supplementary counter affidavit filed on behalf of the respondent nos.1 to 3, it would be evident that the petitioner was selected as Anganbari Sevika for Kankatta Centre in the Aam Sabha held on 23rd February, 2018. A copy of the minutes of the meeting has been annexed as Annexure-1 to the writ petition, perusal of which would suggest that the same has been signed by a member of Panchayat Samiti and the headmaster/principal of Government Upgraded Middle School, Kankatta, Angara (Ranchi). Though the signature of the third person is not clear from Annexure-1, however, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the said signature is of Gram Pradhan of the village. 9. Even if the said submission of learned counsel for the petitioner is accepted to be true, the meeting held on 23rd February, 2018 for selection of Anganbari Sevika of the concerned centre cannot be said to be in conformity with the guidelines prescribed by the Government vide letter dated 2nd June, 2006, as the selection of Anganbari Sevika is required to be done by a selection committee, comprising of Child Development Project Officer as Chairperson and Lady Supervisor in-charge of concerned Anganbari Centre, Mukhiya of the panchayat under which the concerned Anganbari Centre exists, Lady Health Visitor or Auxiliary Nurse and Midwife (ANM) as well as 5 the Headmaster of Middle/Primary School situated within the said centre as members. 10. Under the said circumstance, this Court is of the view that the selection of the petitioner as Anganbari Sevika for Kankatta Centre made in the Aam Sabha held on 23rd February, 2018 cannot be said to be valid in law, as the conditions mentioned in the said letter dated 2nd June, 2006 were not followed. It has also been averred in the counter affidavit that subsequently one Lakhimani Devi has been selected as Anganbari Sevika of the said centre on 6th January, 2021, as she possesses the educational qualification of bachelor of arts, whereas the petitioner possesses the educational qualification of intermediate pass. 11. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the petitioner does not deserve any relief under extraordinary writ jurisdiction of this Court. 12. The writ petition being devoid of merit is, accordingly, dismissed. Sanjay/ (Rajesh Shankar, J.)