Experienced former Childline personnel must receive preference in fresh Mission Vatsalya recruitment.

The petitioners were personnel who had worked under the erstwhile Childline/Child Protection Services scheme and claimed more than five years’ experience.

They challenged the tender and proposed engagement of personnel through an outsourcing agency pursuant to Memo No. 449 dated 16 June 2023, issued for implementing the Child Helpline under the Mission Vatsalya Scheme.

They sought quashing of the tender, reinstatement, or adjustment in the new scheme on the ground that experienced personnel should not be replaced by new candidates for substantially the same work.

The Union Ministry’s Standard Operating Procedure dated 31 March 2023 contemplated a smooth transition from the erstwhile Child Protection Services to Mission Vatsalya and permitted preference to experienced personnel.

Pursuant to the State’s process, volunteers were engaged through an outsourcing agency in 26 districts, with the contract initially operating for two years and being extendable by one year, up to a maximum of three years.

An earlier interim order dated 7 December 2023 permitted the petitioners/operators to continue wherever fresh appointments had not been made.

By the time of final hearing, the three-year engagement period had expired, and the State proposed to issue a fresh advertisement incorporating preference for experienced personnel.

Whether the petitioners were entitled to quashing of the tender or reinstatement/continuation in the Child Helpline under the Mission Vatsalya Scheme merely because they had previously worked under the erstwhile Childline scheme

Whether the State was required to give preference or weightage to the petitioners and other experienced personnel in the fresh selection process for engagement through an outsourcing agency

Whether the writ petition could be disposed of on the basis of the Union Government’s statement that experienced personnel may be accommodated on a priority basis

The Court applied the Mission Vatsalya Child Helpline Standard Operating Procedure dated 31 March 2023, which governed the transition from the erstwhile Child Protection Services/Childline system and provided that preference may be given to experienced personnel to ensure a smooth transition.

The Union Government clarified that the SOP did not bar continuation of old staff and permitted States and Union Territories to give preference to them based on their qualifications and experience.

The Court did not rely on any specific statutory provision or judicial precedent; nor did it hold that prior engagement created an enforceable right to automatic reinstatement or permanent absorption.

The Court noted that the original engagements had been made through an outsourcing agency pursuant to the State’s implementation of the Mission Vatsalya transition and were contractually limited to a maximum period of three years.

Since that period had expired, the immediate question was not continuation under the old arrangement but the terms of the forthcoming fresh selection process.

The Union Government’s affidavit expressly stated that experienced personnel could be given priority and that the SOP imposed no prohibition on retaining or preferring old staff.

On that basis, the Court accepted the State and Union Government’s assurance that the fresh advertisement would incorporate weightage/preference for persons who had earlier worked in the concerned posts.

The Court therefore did not grant the broader reliefs of quashing the process, automatic reinstatement, or compulsory adjustment, but disposed of the petition on the recorded assurance.

The Court directed, in substance, that the State incorporate in the fresh advertisement the Union Government’s position that persons who were or had previously been engaged in the relevant posts should receive preference/weightage based on their qualifications and experience.

No order was issued for automatic reinstatement, permanent absorption, or quashing of the earlier tender.

Any pending interlocutory applications were also disposed of.