Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 1: High Court has directed Anti-Corruption Bureau Rajouri to initiate enquiry into selection of Anganwari worker and take appropriate action against the erring officials.
The direction has been passed in a petition filed by Ranjan Devi, who belongs to below poverty line category and her husband is having 50% upper limb permanent disability. The petitioner, who was supposed to be engaged as being at number one position in the panel as an Anganwari worker got duped of her entitlement as Sarpanch of the village got his daughter-in-law engaged in which three Government officials lend their full support.
After hearing Senior Advocate Surinder Kour with Advocate Manpreet Kour for the petitioner, Justice Rahul Bharti observed, “this court has no iota of doubt that the petitioner became the victim of foul-play at the end of the respondent to which active and passive facilitation was lend by the three member Selection Committee comprising of the officials of the time who served as the Child Development Project Officer ICDS Project Sunderbani, the District Social Welfare Officer Rajouri and the Programme Officer, ICDS Project Rajouri”.
“The basis for this court to confirm its observation is that the selection panel was prepared on 06.02.2012 in terms of the panel Notice No. POR/ICDS/807-08/2012 dated 06.02.2012 and before that it was not in any manner possible for the petitioner, who is a middle pass BPL category woman, to know beforehand in November, 2011 that it is she who was going to be number one candidate whereas the respondent and the other applicant were to be behind her”, Justice Bharti said, adding “thus, the coming into picture of an affidavit dated 24.11.2011 allegedly attributed to the petitioner, even if the signatures of the petitioner on the affidavit are genuine, cannot be said to be an act of the petitioner being conscious of the contents of the affidavit, its import and the effect and the purpose for which it was to be used”.
Holding the petitioner entitled to be engaged as an Anganwari Worker for Anganwari Centre Ghai Panyas, Panchayat Kangri Upper, Block Sunderbani, the High Court said that for this requisite order of engagement of the petitioner be issued either by the Director Social Welfare Department, Jammu, or by directing the concerned competent official to issue the same within a period of two months from the date of passing of this judgement. The engagement of the petitioner as Anganwari Worker shall be deemed to be with retrospective effect on notional basis.
“The ACB Rajouri is directed to undertake an enquiry in the matter for the purpose of ascertaining the culpability, departmental or criminal, if any, on the part of the official respondents who then constituted the selection committee and on the part of the respondent Raj Kumar”, High Court said, adding “in case, if any, prima facie, factual basis is found to be there for booking the erring officials and the respondent then to take or propose requisite legal course of action against the erring officials/persons involved”.
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