The main legal point established is the applicability of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 to Anganwadi Workers and Helpers.

JUDGMENT :

1. Learned counsel for petitioner is granted liberty to amend prayer clause of petition to delete words ( Anganwadi Workers and Helpers') during course of day.

2. Learned counsel for petitioner is also granted liberty to implead the State of U.P. through Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department, Civil Secretariat, Lucknow as opposite party no.5 during the course of day.

3. Notices on behalf of newly impleaded opposite party have been accepted in the Office of learned Chief Standing Counsel.

4. Heard Mr. Brijesh Kumar Tiwari, learned counsel for petitioner, Mr. S. B. Pandey, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Mr. Anand Dwivedi, learned counsel for opposite party no.1 and learned State Counsel for opposite parties no.2, 3, 4 and 5.

5. Petition has been filed seeking a direction to opposite parties to provide honorarium to petitioner at par with honorarium which is being paid in other States of Country and that it should not be less than the minimum wages as declared by the State and Central Government. Further prayer for a direction for grant of gratuity to petitioner being an Anganwadi Worker has also been sought.

6. It has been submitted that petitioner was engaged as an Anganwadi Worker in the year 2012 in District Bahraich and is continuing as such till date but the honorarium being paid to petitioner is not commensurate with the honorarium being paid to such Anganwadi Worker and Anganwadi Helper (for short the "AWW and AWH") in other States. It is submitted that the honorarium is even otherwise below minimum wages notified by the State Government. It is submitted that Anganwadi Workers are appointed /engaged for providing services in Anganwadi Centres setup under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and since the aforesaid Centre would come within the definition of an establishment as per the payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, petitioner would be entitled to payment of such gratuity particularly since petitioner would come within definition of worker and the honorarium paid would also be within definition of wages. It is submitted that the aforesaid aspects have already been considered by Hon'ble the Supreme Court in the case of Maniben Maganbhai Bhariya Versus District Development Officer Dahod & Ors. Civil Appeal No.3153 of 2022 and vide judgment and order dated 25.04.2022, Hon'ble the Supreme Court has held that the Gratuity Act of 1972 would apply to Anganwadi Centre and in turn to AWWs and AWHs and directions have therefore been issued. It is submitted that the aforesaid judgment will be applicable upon petitioner.

7. Learned counsel for opposite parties while not disputing the aforesaid proposition of law as held by Hon'ble the Supreme Court have however drawn distinction to the effect that in the case of Maniben Maganbhai Bhariya (supra), Hon'ble the Supreme Court had passed judgment considering Rules framed by the State of Gujarat in the year 2013 whereas there are no such Rules governing services of AWWs and AWHs in the State of U.P. although learned State counsel has drawn attention to the Government Order dated 21.03.2023 to submit that the said Government Order is applicable upon such persons and the same regulates their service conditions in U.P. now.

8. Upon consideration of submissions advanced by learned counsel for parties and perusal of material on record, particularly judgment rendered by Hon'ble the Supreme Court in the case of State of Karnataka and others Versus Ameerbi and others reported in (2007) 11 SCC 681, it is evident that earlier the aspect of AWWs and AWHs being covered under the aforesaid Act had been considered by Hon'ble the Supreme Court in the case of Ameerbi (supra) but the said judgment has thereafter been distinguished in the judgment of Maniben (supra) primarily on the ground that at the time of rendering judgment in the case of Ameerbi (supra) there were no rules or notification governing service conditions of AWWs and AWHs, which have subsequently been notified.

9. The