Page No.# 1/6 GAHC010012972026 2026:GAU-AS:7253 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : WP(C)/158/2025 SHAHINA BEGUM W/O- MONIRUL ALOM MOLLAH R/O- VILL.- SATSHIYA KHAMAR (PAMERBALA) P.O. KHALISABHITA P.S. LAKHIPUR DIST. GOALPARA ASSAM PIN- 783330. VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 4 ORS REPRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT DISPUR GUWAHATI-781006. 2:THE DIRECTOR OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT UZANBAZAR GUWAHATI-781001. 3:THE DISTRICT COMMISSIONER GOALPARA DIST. GOALPARA ASSAM PIN- 783001. 4:THE DISTRICT SOCIAL WELFARE OFFICER GOALPARA ASSAM PIN- 783101. Page No.# 2/6 5:THE CHILD DEVELOPMENT PROJECT OFFICER LAKHIPUR ICDS PROJECT GOALPARA DIST. GOALPARA ASSAM PIN- 783101. ------------ Advocate for : MR. M MONDAL Advocate for : GA ASSAM appearing for THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 4 ORS BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH MAZUMDAR ORDER 25.05.2026 Heard Mr. N. Sarma, learned counsel for the petitioner, and Mr. D Nath, learned Senior Government Advocate, Assam, for all the respondents. 2. By preferring this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has approached this Court aggrieved by the rejection of her application, for engagement as Anganwadi Helper in respect of Pamerbala Anganwadi Centre, on the ground that the Pass Certificate submitted by the petitioner for All India Secondary School Examination, 2012 issued by the Central Board of Secondary Education [CBSE], Delhi has been termed by the respondent no. 5 as a qualification from a non-recognized Board. 3. The petitioner claims to have passed the All India Secondary School Examination, 2010 from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya [JNV], Kendrikona, Mahendraganj, Meghalaya under the CBSE, Delhi. The petitioner is an aspirant for engagement as an Anganwadi Helper and had responded to the advertisement Page No.# 3/6 issued by the respondent no. 5 on 01.11.2024 for the engagement of Anganwadi Workers/Anganwadi Helpers in 51 nos. of Anganwadi Centres under the Lakhipur Child Development Project, one being the Pamerbala Anganwadi Centre, District - Goalpara. 4. As per the terms and conditions of the Advertisement, to be engaged as an Anganwadi Helper, a candidate should have the educational qualification of High School Leaving Certificate [HSLC]/Assam High Madrassa [AHM] from the Board of Secondary Education, Assam or equivalent examination from a “ recognized” Board by the Government of Assam. 5. The petitioner had approached the court by preferring WP(C) 6483 of 2024 on the apprehension that the application of the petitioner may be rejected, as the petitioner had obtained an educational qualification from CBSE Delhi. On 6.12.2024, the petition was dismissed, holding it to be premature and allowing the petitioner to approach again when a proper cause of action arises. 6. The application of the petitioner was thereafter rejected on 7.1.2025, on the grounds of obtaining an educational qualification from a non-recognised board. The petitioner has approached this Court again. 7. An affidavit in opposition has been filed by the Additional Director of Women and Child Welfare, Assam, who has “mentioned’ that the CBSE examination conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education, Delhi, is not recognised by the Government of Assam for the post of Anganwadi worker/helper in the State of Assam. Further in the affidavit, the deponent has referred to the clause relating to eligibility criteria for the post of Anganwadi Worker and the Worker of Mini Page No.# 4/6 Anganwadi Center, which requires the qualification of HS passed. The post in issue in this writ petition is “Anganwadi Helper’ and not “Anganwadi Worker”. The manner in which the affidavit under consideration has been filed, in the opinion of this Court, displays the lackadaisical attitude of the deponent, which this Court deprecates. The deponent in the affidavit has not drawn the attention of the Court to any conscious decision of the Government of Assam not to recognise the examination held by the CBSE, Delhi, as equivalent when considering candidates for engagement in the post of Anganwadi Helpers. 8. On perusal of the terms and conditions of the Advertisement, it has emerged that to be engaged as an Anganwadi Helper, a candidate should have the educational qualification of HSLC/AHM from the Board of Secondary Education, Assam or equivalent examination from a recognized Board by the Government of Assam. The petitioner has passed the All India Secondary School Examination in the year 2012 from the Central Board of Secondary Education [CBSE], Delhi. In the opinion of this Court, in the absence of any specific notification being placed regarding the non-recognition of the examination qualified by her, the petitioner has a qualification equivalent to HSLC/AHM examinations conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam. In such a view of the matter, rejection of the application of the petitioner, on the ground that the Central Board of Secondary Education [CBSE] is not recognized, is an arbitrary act. This Court takes judicial notice of the facts that the erstwhile Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC), now reconstituted as the Assam State School Education Board (ASSEB), recognized 10th standard certificates issued by the CBSE for school-conducted Page No.# 5/6 exams for further studies under the erstwhile Council and that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a national-level board of education in India, controlled and managed by the Government of India. It is preposterous on the part of the deponent on the affidavit in opposition to have suggested that the examinations conducted by the CBSE, Delhi, are not recognised in the State of Assam, more so in the absence of any such decision being brought to notice. 9. In such a view of the matter, the respondents, more specifically the respondent no. 1, are expected to issue appropriate instructions/directions to the concerned authorities to refrain from rejecting the candidatures of otherwise eligible candidates on the grounds as had been done in the present case. 10. Insofar as the present case is concerned, the respondent no.5 is directed to accept the application of the petitioner for consideration for the post of Anganwadi Helper in respect of Pamerbala Anganwadi Centre and to allow the petitioner to participate in the selection process. The selection process shall thereafter be proceeded with, in accordance with law, to culminate in the selection and appointment of the most meritorious eligible candidate. 11. The respondent no.5, within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order, shall inform the petitioner of the date, the time and the venue for her to appear for participating further in the selection process. The selection process shall be completed within a period of 45 days thereafter in accordance with the law. 12. This Court has been informed that a certain candidate had been shown to be selected and appointed to the post in issue in this writ petition. Such selection and Page No.# 6/6 appointment were done during a period when the restraint orders passed by this Court were in operation, and such appointment orders have already been cancelled/withdrawn. In view of the circumstances, since directions have been issued to the respondents to continue with the selection process in accordance with law from the stage of allowing the petitioner herein to participate in the selection process, in the considered opinion of the Court, the erroneous selection and appointment of the candidate would be void ab initio in the teeth of the restraint orders. Such a candidate would not be a necessary party in this litigation, since the very intent of the interim restraint orders was to avoid complications in adjudication that would arise due to the creation of third-party rights. 13. Writ petition is accordingly allowed to the extent indicated above. Parties shall bear their own costs. JUDGE Comparing Assistant