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Showing contexts for: nrhm in Satya Dev Bhagaur vs The State Of Rajasthan on 17 February, 2022Matching Fragments
B.R. GAVAI, J.
1. Leave granted.
appellants assail the order dated 13.08.2019, passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan at Jodhpur (hereinafter referred to as the “High Court”), in D.B. Special Appeal Writ No. 837 of 2019, thereby allowing the appeal filed by the State of Rajasthan, challenging the order of the Single Judge of the High Court dated 28.08.2018. The Single Judge of the High Court vide the said order had allowed the writ petitions filed by the appellants and directed the respondentState to grant bonus marks to the appellants herein, who have worked under the National Health Mission Schemes (hereinafter referred to as “NHM”) and National Rural Health Mission Schemes (hereinafter referred to as “NRHM”) in States other than the State of Rajasthan.
8. The appellants herein, who have the experience of working under the NRHM scheme on contract basis in different States, approached the High Court vide various writ petitions seeking a direction to the respondentState of Rajasthan to accept the experience certificate of the petitioners which was issued by the NRHM authorities of different States, so as to qualify them for getting the bonus marks. The Single Judge of the High Court vide order dated 28.08.2018, allowed the said writ petitions and directed the State of Rajasthan to grant bonus marks to the appellants who had worked under the NHM/NRHM schemes in different states.
11. The main contention of the appellants is that a plain reading of Rule 19 of the said Rules would clearly show that the experience of working anywhere in the country under the NHM/NRHM schemes would be sufficient to qualify a candidate to get bonus marks. It is submitted that the work which is being done by all the contractual employees working under the NHM/NRHM schemes in the State of Rajasthan is the same as that being done by the employees working under the NHM/NRHM schemes in the other States. Learned counsel submitted that basically all these contractual employees are working as Nursing Assistants in ambulances. It is therefore, submitted that the Rule 19 of the said Rules itself enables a candidate working anywhere in the country under the NHM/NRHM schemes to qualify to get the bonus marks. The candidate cannot be deprived of the same on the ground that only the employees working under the NHM/NRHM schemes in the State of Rajasthan are entitled to such benefit.
12. The learned counsel for the appellants submit that, to discriminate between employees working under the NHM/NRHM schemes in the State of Rajasthan as against those working outside the State of Rajasthan, is without intelligible differentia, not having the nexus with the object sought to be achieved and as such, is palpably arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
13. Dr. Singhvi, the learned Senior Counsel appearing for the State of Rajasthan, per contra, submitted that if Rule 19 is read in proper prospective along with the advertisement, it will be clear that the benefit of bonus marks is available only to the employees working under the NHM/NRHM schemes who have rendered their services in the State of Rajasthan. He submits that Rajasthan is a vast State with different types of topographies. He further submitted that the object of Rule 19 is only to give additional weightage for the services rendered by the contractual employees either with the State Government or under the schemes executed or implemented in the State of Rajasthan. He submitted that the Division Bench has rightly construed this aspect and allowed the appeal filed by the State.