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2026 Supreme(Online)(HP) 2645

IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH AT SHIMLA

CWP No.2677 of 2016

Decided on 25th April 2026

Smt. Pushap Lata ...Petitioner Versus State of Himachal Pradesh and others ...Respondents

Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ajay Mohan Goel, Judge¹Whether approved for reporting? Yes

For the petitioner: Mr. Jai Dev Thakur, Advocate.
For the respondents: Mr. R.P. Singh, Deputy Advocate General for respondents No.1 to 5.
Mr. G.R. Palsra, Advocate, for respondent No.6.

Ajay Mohan Goel, Judge (Oral)

Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Jai Dev Thakur
For the Respondents: R.P. Singh, G.R. Palsra

When determining financial eligibility under an Anganwari scheme, the authorities must aggregate all income from every source, including honoraria and temporary wages, as the primary objective is to assess the total family income rather than applying formalistic exemptions to specific categories of revenue.

Headnote:(A) Anganwari Policy - Eligibility Criteria - Family annual income - When assessing family income for eligibility purposes, the authorities must consider all income generated from various sources regardless of whether the source is classified as honorarium, salary, or temporary earnings - Income certificate must reflect actual family receipts rather than applying narrow or exclusionary definitions to specific types of revenue. (Paras 4, 18, 19, 23)

(B) Administrative Actions - Judicial Review - Where administrative orders ignore crucial financial facts and fail to provide reasoned justifications for excluding major income sources, such orders are deemed perverse and liable to be set aside, especially in cases of public appointment. (Paras 18, 20)

Facts of the case:
The petitioner challenged the selection of the respondent for the post of Anganwari Worker, contending that the respondent's family annual income exceeded the limit of Rs. 20,000 per annum. The respondent was receiving an honorarium as a Gram Panchayat President, and her husband was earning a regular salary as a garbage collector, both of which the authorities excluded from the family income calculation as 'temporary' or 'honorarium'.

Findings of Court:
The Court held that the authorities erred in law by failing to include the honorarium and the husband's income in the family income calculation. The reasoning provided by the authorities was found to be perverse as it ignored the total actual income of the family, which clearly exceeded the prescribed limit.

Issues: Whether the honorarium and temporary earnings of the appointee's family should be considered income for determining eligibility under the Anganwari policy and whether the appointment was legally sustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: An income certificate must reflect the total economic reality of the applicant’s family. The source or the nomenclature of the income (honorarium or temporary earnings) is irrelevant for the purpose of assessing the financial eligibility required under the welfare scheme. Result : Petition allowed; appointment of the private respondent quashed; recovery of 50% of wages ordered.

By way of this writ petition, the petitioner has, inter alia, prayed for the following reliefs:-

“I That the impugned order dated 09.06.2015 (i.e. Annexure P-3), order dated 10.09.2015 (i.e. Annexure P-4) and order dated 21.11.2015 (i.e. Annexure P-5) passed by respondents No.2 to 4 may kindly be quashed and set aside and respondents may kindly be directed to verify the income certificate after considering all the facts and circumstances mention herein above by the petitioner.

II. That the income certificate dated 05.01.2015 (i.e. Annexure P-8) issued by respondent No.4 in favour of respondent No.6 may kindly be quashed and respondents No.3 and 4 may also be directed to verify all relevant record prior to issuance of the income certificate on the basis of family status of both the parties at the time of interview, in the interest of justice.

III. That respondents No.2 may kindly be directed to appoint the petitioner as Anganwari worker in Anganwari centre Bahawa after setting aside the selection of respondent No.6 being next in merit.”

2. Brief facts necessary for the adjudication of this petition are that in the year 2015, process was initiated for appointing an Anganwari Worker in Anganwari Centre Bahawa, Tehsil Chachiot, District Mandi, H.P. The petitioner and the private respondent alongwith other candidates appeared in the interview. The result of the interview was declared and the private respondent was selected. Feeling aggrieved, the petitioner filed an appeal on 27.01.2015.

3. During the pendency of said appeal, for the veracity of the income certificate of the private respondent as well as the petitioner, the matter was referred to Tehsildar concerned. Tehsildar Chachiot vide Annexure P-3, dated 09.06.2015, upheld the income certificate issued in favour of the private respondent, Smt. Birma Devi. Feeling aggrieved by said order, the petitioner preferred an appeal. In terms of order passed by the Appellate Authority, Annexure P-4, dated 10.09.2015, the findings returned by the Tehsildar were upheld. Thereafter, the appeal of the petitioner against the appointment of the private respondent was decided by the Appellate Authority in terms of Annexure P-5, dated 21.11.2015, dismissing the same and hence this petition.

4. Mr. Jai Dev Thakur, learned counsel for the petitioner argued that the findings returned in the impugned orders by the Tehsildar and the Appellate Authority and also the Appellate Authority, envisaged under the Anganwari Scheme, are not sustainable in the eyes of law. He submitted that it stood proved from the orders passed by the Tehsildar as well as the Appellate Authority i.e. Divisional Officer (C) Chachiot that the private respondent, when she applied for the post of Anganwari Worker was serving as President Gram Panchayat Bahawa and was getting Rs.2100/- per month as salary, which took her own income to be Rs.25,200/- per annum, which was in excess of the minimum income prescribed in the Anganwari Scheme for applying for the post of Anganwari Worker, i.e. Rs.20,000/- per annum. He further submitted that it also stood proved on record that the husband of the private respondent was serving with Municipal Corporation, Shimla as Garbage Collector and was earning Rs.5700/- per month, which was also evident from Annexure P-6, dated 01.07.2015 Page-27 of the paper book, which took the income of the husband of the private respondent to be in excess of Rs.60,000/- per annum. He submitted that these extremely important aspects of the matter were completely ignored by the Tehsildar as well as the Appellate Authority, who upheld the order of Tehsildar as also the Appellate Authority which dismissed the appeal filed by the present petitioner against the appointment of the private respondent as an Anganwari Worker. He further submitted that as the annual income of the family of the private respondent was far in excess of what was envisaged in the policy, her appointment cannot be justified in law and accordingly,

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