The Bombay High Court’s Aurangabad Bench has set aside the termination of petitioner from her post as an Anganwadi Karyakarti, holding that she was not disqualified under the Maharashtra Civil Services (Declaration of Small Family) Rules, 2005.
The petitioner was appointed in 2011 after declaring she had only two children, as required under government norms. In 2019, following a complaint that she had three children, an inquiry confirmed the claim, and she was removed from service. The Additional Divisional Commissioner upheld her termination in appeal.
Justice S. G. Chapalgaonkar noted that under Rule 3’s proviso, individuals with more than two children on the date of commencement of the 2005 Rules (28 March 2005) are not disqualified for appointment, provided no additional child is born thereafter. Records showed that all three of Kakade’s children were born between 1996 and 2004, before the Rules came into effect.
While acknowledging that her declaration at the time of appointment was factually incorrect, the Court cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in Pawan Kumar v. Union of India (2023) 12 SCC 317 to emphasise that even false declarations must be assessed in context and not applied arbitrarily. Since Kakade was substantively eligible, her dismissal was held unsustainable.
The writ petition was allowed, and her termination order was quashed, restoring her to the post.
Appearances:
Mr. M. P. Kale, Advocate for the Petitioner.
Mr. S. P. Joshi, AGP for Respondents-State.
Mr. S. M. Ganachari, Advocate for Respondent Nos.3 and 4. Respondent Nos. 2, 5 to 11
