Masrat Banoo vs State Of Jammu & Kashmir Through ...
2023 Latest Caselaw 1375 j&K/2

                                                                  S. No. 05
                                                                  Regular list


HIGH COURT OF JAMMU &KASHMIR AND LADAKH
               AT SRINAGAR

                             SWP 1402/2010 c/w
                              SWP 1259/2010


     1. Masrat Banoo W/O Mohammad Shafi Lone R/O Kawool Mandji
        Charhar Tehsil Sopore District Baramulla
                                                 .....Petitioner(s)

Through: Mr. B.A. Zargar, Advocate

                                 V/s
     1. State of Jammu & Kashmir through Commissioner/Secretary to
        Govt.     Social   Welfare     Department,    Civil   Secretariat
        Jammu/Srinagar
     2. Director, Social Welfare Department Kashmir Srinagar
     3. District Programme Officer Scheme (ICDS) Baramulla
     4. Child Development Project Officer, Integrated Child Development
        Scheme (ICDS) Project Zaingeer
     5. Mst. Tahira Akhter D/O Ghulam Mohammad Dar R/O Kawool
        Mandji Zaingeer Baramulla

                                                .....Respondent(s)

Through: Mr. Mohammad Younis Hafiz, Standing Counsel, vice Mr. Abdul Rashid Malik, Sr.AAG

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAHUL BHARTI, JUDGE

JUDGMENT/ ORDER 31.10.2023

1. Heard Mr. B.A. Zargar, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr.

Mohammad Younis Hafiz, learned standing counsel vice Mr. Abdul

Rashid Malik, learned Senior Additional Advocate General representing

respondents 1 to 4.

2. This is a 2010 writ petition filed by the petitioner for the purpose

of seeking entertainment of her claim for selection and engagement as

anganwadi worker with respect to anganwadi centre in village Kawool

Mandji district Baramulla.

3. Respondent no. 4-Child Development Project Officer (in short

'CDPO'), ICDS Project Zaingeer came forward with an advertisement

notice no. 04 dated 29-01-2010 for the purpose of selection and

engagement of anganwadi workers for anganwadi centers located in

fourteen different villages one of which being village Mandji and the

anganwadi center being center for Mohalla Kawool.

4. In response to this advertisement, the petitioner and the private

respondent no. 5 seems to have participated in the selection process on

the basis of their credentials, academics as well as residential. The

petitioner's academic merit seems to be higher than that of the private

respondent no. 5. The petitioner claimed herself to be the actual resident

of Mohalla Kawool and thus fully eligible for staking her claim for

selection and engagement on account of her better educational merit. But

it has appears that the said claim of the petitioner in terms of her

residential status was found not to be correct and thus paving the way for

the purported selection of the respondent no. 5 as anganwadi worker for

which purpose the office of the respondent no. 4-CDPO Zaingeer came

forward with a newspaper publication of the selection list in local Urdu

Daily namely Daily United Times dated 28th August, 2010.

5. In terms of this select list, the name of the respondent no. 5 stood

reflected at serial no. 13. The selection list was subject to objections from

the aggrieved non-selected candidates within a period of seven days and

the select list was said to be provisional subject to proper verification of

the credentials of the selected candidates.

SWP 1402/2010 c/w SWP 1259/2010

6. Upon filing of the instant writ petition, this Court, in terms of

interim order dated 12.10.2010, came to direct status quo with respect to

engagement of anganwadi worker in the writ petition.

7. On behalf of the respondent no. 5 reply/objections came to be filed

on 16.07.2011 wherein the respondent no. 5 has objected to the claim of

the petitioner in the context of her residential status relatable to Mohalla

Kawool housing the anganwadi centre. As per the respondent no. 5, the

petitioner is a resident of village Charihar and not the resident of location

Kawool where the anganwadi centre is located. With respect to merit

position inter se the petitioner and respondent no. 5, there is no denial in

her reply to the writ petition on behalf of the respondent no. 5 that the

petitioner is better merit holder.

8. The official respondents in their reply have invested stress on the

fact that the petitioner does not belong to the hamlet (Mohalla Kawool)

and thus was not to be considered for selection and engagement leaving

only the respondent no. 5 as the lone contender for the engagement. The

official respondents in their reply have not adverted to the documents

produced by the petitioner along with her writ petition confirming her

claim with respect to her residential status of hamlet (Mohalla Kawool).

In this regard, the petitioner has annexed certificate issued by Secretary

Panchayat concerned with respect to the residential status of the

petitioner being resident of Charihar Kawool accompanied with

certificate of Numberdar concerned and also the voter list.

9. This writ petition should not detain this Court long any further, as

the authorities concerned including the official respondents have not

come forward with an exercise of their end to confirm the fact as to

SWP 1402/2010 c/w SWP 1259/2010 whether petitioner is or not actually the resident of village Mandji

relatable to Mohalla Kawool whereas the petitioner claims that she is

actually the resident of Mohalla Kawool Village Mandji which is also

relatable to the revenue village Charhar.

10. Given the fact that the engagement of the anganwadi worker,

notwithstanding the purported selection of the respondent no. 5, has not

taken place yet in view of the status quo direction passed by this Court,

as such, this writ petition is disposed of with following directions unto

the respondent no. 4-Child Development Project Officer, Integrated Child

Development Scheme Project Zaingeer:

(i) To get the residential status of the petitioner qua Mohalla

Kawool village and panchayat Mandji confirmed from the

Tehsildar (Revenue) concerned on the basis of the

residential credentials submitted by the petitioner in

response to the advertisement notice no. 4 of 2010;

(ii) Upon the basis of confirmation with respect to the

residential status of the petitioner coming from the Tehsildar

(Revenue) concerned, the respondent no. 4-Child

Development Project Officer, Integrated Child Development

Scheme Project Zaingeer shall take final decision with

respect to selection and engagement of the petitioner vis-à-

vis respondent no. 5 as anganwadi worker. In case, the

petitioner's residential status is confirmed to be that of

Mohalla Kawool then it is the petitioner who shall be

afforded the engagement as an anganwadi worker for the

anganwadi centre in reference and in case if the petitioner is

SWP 1402/2010 c/w SWP 1259/2010 found to be not the actual resident of Mohalla Kawool

village Mandji, then the selection of the respondent no. 5

shall invite her engagement as the anganwadi worker;

(iii) Before taking any decision upon the basis of the report

submitted by the Tehsildar Revenue concerned, the

respondent no. 4 shall afford an opportunity of hearing both

to the petitioner as well as the respondent no. 5 and there

upon take the final decision;

(iv) Needful exercise to be carried out by the respondent no. 4-

Child Development Project Officer, ICDS Project Zaingeer

within a period of three months from the date of receipt of

certified copy of this judgment. Delivery of this judgment to

be carried out by the petitioner. Delivery of certified copy of

this judgment to the respondent no. 4 to be carried out by the

petitioner within a period of two weeks with effect from date

of pronouncement of this judgment/order which is today.

11. Disposed of.

(RAHUL BHARTI) JUDGE SRINAGAR:

31.10.2023 MUBASHIR

(i) Whether the judgment/order is speaking: Yes

(ii) Whether the judgment/order is reportable: Yes/No

SWP 1402/2010 c/w SWP 1259/2010