KUNI PALAI Vs. SUB-COLLECTOR, PURI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SHORT question that arises for determination in this writ petition is whether the applicant to be engaged as Anganwadi worker should file the requisite residential certificate along with her application on or before the last date of submission of application or the same can be condoned, so as to enable her to file the residential certificate issued at a date subsequent to the last date of application.

(2.) THE C.D.P.O., Krushnaprasad issued Notification No.140 dated 02.11.2007 inviting applications for selection of Anganwadi Worker for Nuagaon Anganwadi Centre. The last date of application was 26.11.2007. One of the conditions that needs to be satisfied by the applicant is that the applicant should be a resident of the village in which the Anganwadi Centre was proposed to be established. In pursuance to such advertisement, the petitioner, opposite party no.3 and two others submitted their applications. It is also not disputed that though the petitioner had submitted residential certificate along with her application, such certificate was not annexed by the opposite party no.3. It further transpires from the record that opposite party no.3 married to one Papu Palai on 28.11.2007 in a temple of that village and immediately thereafter she applied for a residential certificate. The application was allowed and she was granted a residential certificate on 30.11.2007. However, on scrutiny, her name was rejected because the application submitted by her was not complete and the petitioner was given appointment.

(3.) SUCH a decision taken by the Selection Committee was assailed by opposite party no.3 before the Sub -Collector, Puri, which was registered as A.W.W. Misc. (A) No. 42 of 2008, wherein the learned Sub -Collector, mainly relying on the fact that opposite party no.3 has secured more mark in the H.S.C. examination, allowed the appeal and set aside the selection of the petitioner. Such order has been assailed in this writ petition.