The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court recently delivered a significant ruling concerning thousands of anganwadi workers across Maharashtra. The court struck down a state government rule that barred anganwadi sevikas above 45 years of age from being promoted as supervisors, holding the provision arbitrary, discriminatory, and violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.
Court Ruling on Age Limit
A division bench comprising Justices Anil Kilor and Raj Wakode allowed a writ petition filed by 10 anganwadi sevikas from Akola district. The court declared Rule 7(1)(c) of the Service Entry Rules, 2021, framed by the Women and Child Development Department, as unconstitutional. The judges stated, "The state action must be fair, non-arbitrary, and based on a justifiable principle, especially in matters affecting rights and benefits of similarly situated employees, which is utterly lacking in the present policy adopted by the government while formulating Rule 7(1)(c)."
Petitioners' Background
The petitioners, all serving as anganwadi sevikas for more than two decades under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme, challenged the state's June 4, 2021, notification through counsel Ved Deshpande. This notification reduced the maximum age limit for promotion to the post of supervisor from 55 years to 45 years.
Quashing of Communications
The court also quashed consequential communications issued by the ICDS commissionerate and Akola Zilla Parishad directing appointments under the amended rules. The court remarked, "We are at a loss to understand how an anganwadi sevika, who is considered fit for rendering services till the age of 65 years, is not considered fit for serving as an anganwadi supervisor."
Unreasonable Discrimination
The judges held that the rule created "unreasonable discrimination" among similarly placed anganwadi workers and lacked any "rational nexus" with the object sought to be achieved. The government had defended the rule by arguing that supervisors are required to oversee nearly 25 anganwadi centres and that workers appointed at an advanced age would face difficulty in handling the workload and reporting responsibilities.
Court's Rejection of Government Argument
Rejecting the argument, the court ruled that experience gained with age could not be treated as a disadvantage. The court noted that the restriction effectively denied promotion opportunities to senior workers while allowing junior and less experienced candidates to become supervisors.
Legitimate Expectation Violated
The petitioners told the court that although the state had increased the promotion age limit to 55 years through a corrigendum issued in December 2001, appointments to supervisor posts in Akola district were not carried out for nearly two decades. By the time the 2021 rules came into force, many eligible workers had crossed 45 years of age, effectively excluding them from consideration. The bench said this amounted to a violation of the doctrine of legitimate expectation, observing that the workers acquired eligibility between 2004 and 2008 but were denied promotions due to administrative inaction.
Retrospective Application Caused Prejudice
The court further noted that the 2021 rule was made retrospectively applicable even to already serving anganwadi workers, causing "serious prejudice" to employees who had been waiting for promotions for years.
