Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 14: The High Court today held that selection is not envisaged to be made on the basis of distance of the Centre from the residence of the candidate but at village level and all candidates residing in village irrespective of distance of their residential houses from the Sub Centre are eligible and placed at par for seeking consideration.
This significant judgment has been passed by Justice Sanjeev Kumar in a petition filed by Tahira Mehmood who had challenged the selection of private respondent as ANM in NHM.
In her petition, the petitioner had submitted that despite her higher merit, she was dropped from the selection list of ANM in National Health Mission and the respondent No.5, who did not figure in the list of candidates shortlisted for viva voce because of her merit inferior to the cut-off point, was shown selected in the final select list.
In response to the writ petition, the official respondents filed their reply, submitting that the provisional selection of the petitioner was cancelled on the ground that she had married in village Gulgam and was no more resident of Village Hayan, the place where the Sub Centre was located.
Justice Sanjeev Kumar after hearing both the sides, observed that any contract in restraint of marriage is void and cannot be acted upon or enforced. “Having held thus, Court would like to emphasize that such candidate who gets engagement on the ground of being a resident of the village concerned, if subsequently gets married to a person outside the village, must give an undertaking to his/her employer that he/she would be available 24×7 for performance of duties and that his/her marriage outside the village would not come in his/her way in due discharge of duties,” he observed.
Justice Sanjeev Kumar further observed that the contention of counsel for the respondent number 5 that her house is nearer to the Sub Centre as compared to the house of the petitioner is also devoid of merit.
“The selection is not envisaged to be made on the basis of distance of the Centre from the residence of the candidate but is envisaged to be made at village level. All candidates residing in Village Chack Hayan irrespective of the distance of their residential houses from the Sub Centre are eligible and placed on par for seeking consideration,” he added.
With these observations, Court allowed the petition and ordered that engagement of respondent number 5 is quashed and also ruled that the petitioner is held entitled to engagement as ANM/FMPHW in Sub Centre, Chack Hayan, with effect from the date respondent No.5 was so engaged with all consequential benefits minus the monetary benefits.
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