Order(Oral)

1. Through the medium of the instant petition, the petitioners herein have sought the following reliefs:-

                     “(a) Allow this writ petition.

                     (b) Writ of certiorari quashing order No. 13-SMD of 2015 dated 22.04.2015 issued by the respondent No. 3, which has effect of disengagement/termination of the services of the petitioners as Anganwadi Workers/Helpers engaged and discharging their duties as such in their respective Anganwadi Centres in Block Ghordi and Udhampur, District Udhampur.

                     (c) Writ of mandamus, commanding the respondents to allow the petitioners to discharge their duties as Anganwadi Workers/Helpers having been engaged by the respondent Nos. 5 and 6 in the interest of smooth functioning of their respective Anganwari Centres in Block Ghordi and Udhampur, District Udhampur and discharging their duties to the best satisfaction of the authorities as on date.

                     (d) Writ of mandamus, commanding the respondents to regularize the services of the petitioners as has been done in case of similarly situated persons of various departments including PDD.

                     (e) Any other writ, order, command or directions, which this Court may deem just and proper in the given facts and circumstances of the case may also be passed in favour of petitioners and against the respondents.”

2. The case set up by the petitioners herein is that being fully eligible, they were engaged as Anganwari Workers/Helpers and working in their respective Anganwari Centres in Block Ghordi, District Udhampur in the month of November, 2007.

3. It is being next stated by the counsel for the petitioners that despite the petitioners’ satisfactory working at their respective Anganwari Centres, the respondent 3 herein being State Mission Director, ICDS Jammu issued Order No. 13-SMD of 2015 dated 22.04.2015, directing the termination of the petitioners and other similarly placed Anganwari Workers/Helpers without any lawful justification, which compelled the petitioners to file the instant writ petition before this Court.

4. Objections to the instant petition have filed by the respondents, wherein the petition is being opposed, inter-alia, on the premise that the petitioners’ engagements were made in violation of the applicable rules, despite there being a prescribed procedure under the ICDS guidelines and Government Order No. 07-SW of 2010 dated 18.01.2010, followed by Government Order No. 10-SW of 2010 dated 19.01.2010, as such, the order dated 22.04.2015 was issued in compliance with the Government Order No. 384-GAD of 2015 dated 17.03.2015.

Heard counsel for the parties and perused the record.

5. According to the learned counsel for the petitioners, the issues involved in the instant petition stand settled by a Coordinate Bench of this Court in a batch of writ petition being SWP No. 1222/2015 as a lead case and titled as “Sunita Kumar and ors. Vs. State of J&K and ors.” reported in 2018 (4) JKLT 420 and would, therefore, pray that the instant petition be disposed of in the same manner and on the same analogy, to which the learned counsel for the respondents expressed no objection.

6. It is discernible from the record that the petitioners herein were engaged as Anganwari Workers/Helpers in different Anganwadi Centres in Block Ghordi, District Udhampur, which fact is not disputed by the respondents.

7. A closer examination of the record as also the judgments (supra) rendered by a Coordinate Bench of this Court, inasmuch as the issues involved therein, it is manifestly clear that the said judgment is squarely applicable to the case of the petitioners herein.

8. Accordingly, the instant petition succeeds, as a consequence whereof, the respondents are commanded to treat the case of the petitioners herein at par with the petitioners in SWP No. 1222/2015 (supra), rendering them eligible and entitled to all the reliefs thereof.

9. Disposed of along with connected applications.

10. Registry is directed to place a copy of the judgment delivered in SWP No. 1222/2015 on the record file of the present petition.