Delhi High Court seeks Delhi govt stand on challenge to termination of Anganwadi workers over protests

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought a response from the Delhi government on a petition challenging the termination of several Anganwadi workers following protests over their service conditions and asked the authorities not to further issue such orders of termination. Justice V Kameswar Rao issued notice on the petition by Delhi State Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union and granted four weeks to the Delhi government to file its response, saying “you will not add on” to the number of terminated Anganwadi numbers in the meantime.

While senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the petitioner, urged the court to allow the terminated workers to come to work as an interim relief, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Delhi government, favoured taking a “compassionate” view in the matter and said, “we will see what can be done”. The Delhi government lawyer said that termination notice has been issued to 991 workers and the petitioners should avail the alternative remedy available to them under the Industrial Disputes Act for reinstatement.

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The senior lawyer for the government orally assured that no further termination orders would be issued in view of the pendency of the matter before the court. Delhi government informed that the Anganwadi workers were not the same as those holding any government post and that they were only paid an honorarium and that a raise was given in their allowance last month. The Delhi government counsel said out of 3,000 workers, several chose to come back to work after a notice was issued to them but a few did not.

Counsel for the petitioner said that Anganwadi workers even worked as frontline workers during the pandemic and the number of terminated workers was estimated to be almost two thousand. “The number will not go high now that we are hearing the matter. Don't precipitate. You are doing a lot of good work. Merely because they will not precipitate, it shouldn't be seen as a stay and you will not work,” the court told the petitioner. The petition, filed through lawyers Sneha Mukherjee & Kawalpreet Kaur, said that on January 31 and March 9, several Anganwadi workers conducted a peaceful and legal strike after giving notice of the strike to the authorities and it ended when the Delhi government issued a prohibition order.

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“The major demand of the Petitioner union is of regularization or recognition in law as Grade III and Grade IV government employees, social security benefits such as a pension, gratuity, provident fund, medical facilities, promotion, etc. Regularization would be taken to mean that they have been irregularly appointed,” the petition said.

It is the petitioner's grievance in the plea that in spite of the strike being legal, over 3000 show-cause notices were issued to Anganwadi workers and helpers across the 95 projects and over 150 termination orders were issued without any hearing and enquiry. The petition has alleged that the termination orders have been issued in haste pursuant to an order by an official at the Department of Women and Child Development, without due application of mind which shows “arbitrariness and vindictiveness at the highest level”. The petitioner has prayed for a direction to set aside the termination orders and immediately reinstate all such workers with full back wages and other benefits. The matter would be heard next on April 13.