IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.19933 of 2013 ======================================================

Sushila Devi Wife Of Mahanand Mehta Resident Of Village- Musahari, P.S.-

Forbesganj, District- Araria ... ... Petitioner/s Versus

1. The State Of Bihar and Ors Govt. Of Bihar, Patna

2. The Collector, Araria

3. The District Programme Officer, Araria

4. The C.D.P.O., Forbesganj

5. Rajani Kumari, Sevika, Anganwari Centre No. 16140 War Kamat Of Gaya Prasad, Gram Panchayat, I Musahri, Forbesganj, District- Araria ... ... Respondent/s ======================================================

Appearance :

For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Arun Kumar Bhagat, Adv.

Mr. Manoj Kumar Upadhyay, Adv.

For the Respondent/s : Mr.Ajay Kumar, AC to GP -4 ======================================================

CORAM: HONOURABLE JUSTICE SMT. G. ANUPAMA CHAKRAVARTHY ORAL ORDER

7 12-02-2026 1. The present Writ petition has been filed for quashing the order dated 09.05.2013 passed in Appeal No. 28/12-13 by Collector/District Magistrate, Araria, by which the appeal of the petitioner has been dismissed on nonest ground and terminated the petitioner from service in a mechanical manner. Further prayer of the petitioner is for a direction to the respondents to reinstate her as Sahaiyka in Centre No. 16140, War Kamat of Gaya Prasad, Gram Panchayat, Musahri, P.S. - Forbesganj, District – Araria and to pay all consequential benefits entitled to the petitioner.

2. The brief facts as culled out from the Writ petition are that the petitioner was selected as Anganwari Sahayika of Centre No. 16140, War Kamat of Gaya Prasad, Gram Panchayat, Musahri under Forbesganj Block in the district of Araria as per decision of Aam Sabha vide letter no. 146 dated 01.09.2004 issued by the Child Development Project Officer, Forbesganj, Araria (in short “CDPO”). Since then she was performing her duties as Anganwari Sahayika regularly and to the satisfaction of all concerned. The Centre No. 16140 had been allocated to War Kamat of Gaya Prasad, Gram Panchayat, Musahri and the centre was running at the door of one Gaya Prasad. Without any prior permission or order of the authority, all of a sudden, Sevika Rajni Kumari illegally shifted the centre to her house, where she tortured the petitioner mentally and physically and also pressurized her, to do all house hold work, for which, petitioner protested and submitted a complaints against aforesaid Sevika before the authority on 01.12.2011 and on

16.02.2012.

3. Further, the case of the petitioner is that on the basis of the report of the CDPO, Forbesganj contained in Letter No. 101 dated 03.03.2012, the District Programme Officer, Araria issued a show- cause notice to the petitioner vide his Letter No. 236 dated 13.04.2012 asking her to explain as to why, she could not be terminated from service, for her unauthorized absence from duty since January, 2009. The petitioner, thereafter submitted a detailed explanation dated 27.04.2012 on all the facts.

4. The contents of the Writ petition further disclose that the District Programme Officer, Araria without considering the reply of the petitioner or the materials available on record, removed the petitioner from service as Anganwari Sahayika vide letter no.

310 dated 26.05.2012.

5. Being aggrieved by the order of the District Programme Officer, Araria, the petitioner preferred an appeal vide Anganwadi Appeal No. 28/12-13 before the Collector, Gaya, which was also dismissed vide order dated 09.05.2013, upholding the orders of the District Programme Officer, Araria.

6. Being aggrieved by the aforesaid orders, the present Writ petition has been filed.

7. It is the specific contention of the Learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner was continuously attending the work and discharging her duties, but Rajani Kumari, the Sevika did not allow her to mark her attendance and also harassed/tortured the petitioner mentally and physically to do her house-hold works. Therefore, the rem