Smt. Divya Sharma Vs State of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Child Development Service Nutrition Lko. and 5 Others — Allahabad HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

Smt. Divya Sharma Vs State of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Child Development Service Nutrition Lko. and 5 Others — Allahabad HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Dismissed

Issue for consideration

Whether respondent No.6 (Aarti) was validly selected and appointed as Anganwari Karyakatri in the BPL category, notwithstanding the allegation that she obtained a Below Poverty Line certificate by concealing her annual income in connivance with the Lekhpal and was therefore ineligible.

Court's answer

Respondent No.6 was selected strictly on the basis of merit as per the Government Order dated 21.03.2023, and hence there appears to be no illegality in her selection.

Ratio / Principle

When the income certificate of the candidate was first issued, nobody including the petitioner raised any objection to the Lekhpal's report; a further inquiry carried out after filing of the writ petition again found the certificate to have been rightly issued.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench, Court No. 18 (Hon'ble Karunesh Singh Pawar, J.) - WRIT - A No. 4599 of 2025, decided 7.5.2025 (Neutral Citation 2025:AHC-LKO:26767). Smt. Divya Sharma petitioned against the selection and appointment of respondent No.6 (Aarti) to the post of Anganwari Karyakatri, alleging that the candidate had obtained a Below Poverty Line certificate by concealing her annual income in connivance of the Lekhpal, and was on that basis ineligible and selected. By order dated 28.04.2025 the Court sought instructions. Standing counsel thereafter reported, on written instructions taken on record, that the income certificate was inquired into afresh after filing of the petition and found rightly issued at the relevant time; that nobody, including the petitioner, had raised any objection earlier on the Lekhpal's report; that Aarti lives with her husband with no known income source such as government service or stable business; and that movable and immovable property stands in the name of her father-in-law, Suresh Kumar. Finding that respondent No.6 had been selected strictly on the basis of merit as per the Government order dated 21.03.2023 and that no illegality appeared in her selection, the Court dismissed the writ petition as devoid of merits. No statute or precedent is engaged within the four corners of the judgment.

Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC-LKO:26767

Court No. - 18

Case :- WRIT - A No. - 4599 of 2025

Petitioner :- Smt. Divya Sharma Respondent :- State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Child Development Service Nutrition Lko. And 5 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Shiva Nand Pandey Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Vinod Kumar Tiwari

Hon'ble Karunesh Singh Pawar,J.

Heard learned counsel for the petitioner, learned counsel for respondent No.6 and learned standing counsel for the Staterespondent.

This Court vide order dated 28.04.2025 has passed the following order:-

"Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the private party is ineligible for consideration for the post of Anganwari Karyakatri, as by concealing their annual income, in connivance of the Lekhpal, she obtained a Below Poverty Line certificate. It is on the basis of this certificate that the private party has been selected and appointed to the said post.

Learned Standing Counsel prays for and is granted three days time to seek instructions in the matter.

Put up on 07.05.2025 as fresh."

Learned standing counsel on the basis of written instructions has submitted that after this writ petition was filed, the income certificate of the selected candidate i.e. respondent No.6-Aarti has been inquired into. After due inquiry, the certificate has been found to be issued rightly at the relevant time when the inquiry report was submitted by the concerned Lekhpal, no objection was made by anybody. Aarti is living with her husband, there is no known sources of her income such as government service or stable business. The movable and immovable property is also recorded in the name of her fatherin-law namely, Suresh Kumar and therefore, she has been rightly selected on the said post on the basis of merit in the BPL category.

The instructions provided are taken on record.

A perusal of the record so also the instructions show that earlier when the income certificate of Aarti Devi was issued nobody raised any objection including the petitioner on the report of the Lekhpal however, after filing of this writ petition, again an inquiry has been conducted and it has been found to be rightly issued.

In view of above, this Court finds that the selected candidate i.e. respondent No.6 has been selected strictly on the basis of merit as per the Government order dated 21.03.2023 and hence there appears to be no illegality in her selection. The petition being devoid of merits is accordingly dismissed .

Order Date :- 7.5.2025 Saurabh Yadav/-

Digitally signed by :- SAURABH YADAV High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench