Anganwadi Sevika – Retrospective Change of Age for Promotion

The conditions of service provide for retirement age of 65 years for Anganwadi Sevikas and 58 years for the Supervisors.

The Government Resolution dated 17.11.2001 provided for 25% of the Supervisors shall be filled in by promotion from Anganwadi Sevikas who shall be eligible for such promotion upto the age of 45 years.  This was changed to 55 years vide corrigendum dated 7.12.2001.

However, this eligibility age of 55 years was changed to 45 years vide Notification dated 4.6.2021 and made applicable to all Sevikas already recruited and working in the service.

The petitioners have challenged the legality of the said Notification and Rule 7(1)(c) of the Rules.

such classification creates an unreasonable discrimination between Anganwadi Sevikas who are otherwise similarly situated and has no rational nexus with the effective discharge of duties attached to the supervisory post. The petitioners, who are considered fit to discharge duties as Anganwadi Sevikas till the age of 65 years, are being held unfit to serve as Supervisors till the age of 58 years. Such discrimination by respondent No.2 – State of Maharashtra while formulating the impugned Rule 7(1)(c) of the aforesaid Rules is in clear violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.

we are at a loss to understand how an Anganwadi Sevika, who is considered fit for rendering services till the age of 65 years, is not considered fit for serving as an Anganwadi Supervisor, whose age of retirement is 58 years. Thus, in our considered opinion, such age restriction as imposed by the impugned Rule 7(1)(c) of the aforesaid Rules has no logical justification and treats similarly placed persons differently. The aforesaid Rule, in our considered opinion, is arbitrary and creates unreasonable discrimination between Anganwadi Sevikas possessing the same qualifications and therefore deserves to be declared unconstitutional.

Judgment dated 8.5.2026 of the High Court of Bombay, Bench at Nagpur, in Writ Petition No.2147 of 2023 of Chaya Tulshiram Kharat and others   Vs.  Hon’ble  Governor of Maharashtra and others