Bhawani Singh Gram Panchayat Sahayak vs State Of Rajasthan And Others

The appellant (respondent before the Single Bench) has approached this Court through this intra court appeal for assailing the order dated 07.05.2022 passed by the learned Single Bench in D.B. Civil Writ Petition No.14594/2019 preferred by one Balveer Singh. The learned Single Bench accepted the prayer No.C of the writ petition and decided the case in the following manner :-

“In view of the fact clear on record that neither the petitioner nor the respondent No.6 stood in merit, the present writ petition of the petitioner deserves to be partly allowed. Prayer No.C of the writ petition is allowed. The appointment of private respondent No.6 – Bhawani Singh on the post of Gram Panchayat Sahayak being wholly invalid, is quashed. However, he would be entitled to the salary from the date of his appointment til the date of the present order.

So far as the petitioner is concerned, he also being not standing in merit, deserves no indulgence in his favour and therefore, the other reliefs as prayed for cannot be granted.

With the above observations, the present writ petition is partly allowed.

All the pending applications also stand disposed of.”

Being aggrieved of the direction to quash his selection as a Gram Panchayat Sahayak, the appellant (respondent No.6 in the writ petition), has filed the intra court appeal.

We have heard and considered the submissions advanced by Shri Bharat Devasi, learned counsel representing the appellant and have gone through the impugned order as well as the record of the writ petition.

Shri Devasi urged that the respondent was appointed as a Gram Panchayat Sahayak in the Gram Panchayat Mal Ka Khera, District Bhilwara after terminating the service of Balveer Singh writ petitioner because the appellant was the only candidate having requisite experience for holding the post in terms of the selection guidelines. He thus urged that the order passed by the learned Single Bench whereby, while deciding the writ petition, the selection of the appellant respondent No.6 was quashed is absolutely illegal and the same deserves to be set aside.

Ex-facie, we are of the opinion that the observations made and directions given by the learned Single Bench in the impugned order are based on an apropos consideration of the material available on record. It cannot be disputed that as per the guidelines, the names for appointment as Gram Panchayat Sahayak had to be recommended by the School Development and Management Committee. Balveer Singh’s appointment was revoked on the ground that one of the members of the Committee was his uncle. The learned Single Bench observed that the selection was to be made through merit prepared on the basis of marks obtained in the senior secondary examination. Balveer Singh had secured 55.5% marks. The appellant herein had secured 67.8% marks. 5 more candidates who had applied for selection, stood higher in merit as compared the appellant herein.

In this background, apparently, appointment of the appellant herein on the post of Gram Panchayat Sahayak, was absolutely illegal and unjustified and was rightly struck down. The impugned order dated 07.05.2022 passed by the learned Single Bench, does not suffer from any infirmity whatsoever warranting interference in this intra court appeal which is dismissed as being devoid of merit.