No Scheduled Tribe Candidate With Minimum Required Qualification Was Available: Madhya Pradesh HC Quashes Termination Of ASHA Worker

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has quashed the termination of an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) worker who was dismissed due to a state policy favoring candidates from Scheduled Tribes (ST) in areas where their population exceeds 50%.

The Single-Judge Bench of Justice Vivek Jain ruled that the termination of the petitioner, Phoolwati Prajapati, was done wrongly. 

"As there was no ST category candidate in the zone of consideration in the selection and thus there was no question of preference once the ST category candidate was not in the zone of consideration. The letter dated 21.06.2024 placed on record does not speak about disqualification of candidates not belonging to the community having more than 50% population. It only speaks about the candidate belonging to that community having preference. As no candidate having minimum qualification was in the zone of consideration belonging to ST category, the respondents have wrongly operated the preference by order dated 21.06.2024 and terminating the services of the petitioner by consequential order dated 01.07.2024," the Court said. 

The Court highlighted that the minimum educational qualification for an ASHA worker is a Class X pass, and a Class VIII pass candidate could only be considered under special circumstances if no Class X-qualified candidates were available. 

In this case, the petitioner, who had passed Class XII, was more qualified than the sole ST candidate, who had only passed Class VIII.

The Court emphasized that preference based on community could only be applied when candidates are equally qualified. Referring to the Supreme Court's precedent in Secy., A.P. Public Service Commission v. Y.V.V.R. Srinivasulu (2003), whereby the Apex Court reiterated that 'preference' does not imply an automatic right to selection and should not be treated as a rule of reservation or an overriding factor.

The case arose from the petitioner's termination on July 1, 2024, following a directive from the Chief Medical and Health Officer of Sidhi, which cited a June 21, 2024, letter ordering that preference be given to a candidate from the ST community due to the village's ST population exceeding 50%. The petitioner challenged her termination, arguing that it was arbitrary and ignored her qualifications and merit.

The State defended the termination based on its policy, noting that the village's ST population was 246, while the Scheduled Caste (SC) population, to which the petitioner belonged, was only 29. It was also argued that the services of the petitioner have rightly been dispensed with as her appointment was not in accordance with the law and in violation of clause-9 of circular dated August 2, 2022. 

However, the Court concluded that since no ST candidate with the minimum required qualification was available, the application of the preference policy was incorrect, and the termination of the petitioner was therefore unjustified. The Court held that the application of this policy was erroneous in this case, given the educational qualifications of the candidates involved.

Cause Title: Smt. Phoolwati Prajapati v. The State of Madhya Pradesh and Others. [Writ Petition No. 20052 of 2024]

Appearance:-

Petitioner: Advocate Yadvendra Dwivedi

Respondent: Advocate Kamal Nath Nayak

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