New Delhi, Jul 25 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Uttarakhand government and its public services commission on a plea challenging exclusion of persons with blindness and locomotor disability from taking up judicial services examination.
A bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan issued fresh notices to the state, the services commission and the registrar general of the Uttarakhand High Court on Sravya Sindhuri’s plea.
The bench was informed that the petitioner, who is completely blind, challenged the exclusion of the blind, and those with locomotor disability from being eligible for the judicial exams.
“That is very bad, very bad on the part of the government,” Justice Pardiwala asked.
The bench issued the notice to the state considering the examination was scheduled to begin on August 31 and none appeared despite previous notices.
The top court on March 3 delivered a landmark judgement in a similar case and held blind persons cannot be denied opportunity of employment in judicial services, as it struck down provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service Rules that excluded them.
“It is high time that we view the right against disability-based discrimination, as recognised in the RPwD Act (Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act) 2016, of the same stature as a fundamental right, thereby ensuring that no candidate is denied consideration solely on account of their disability,” it said.
The plea, on which the top court issued the notices on Friday, alleged the recruitment advertisement of May 16 violated constitutional rights and statutory provisions under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPwD) Act.
The petition also challenged the restriction of PwBD (persons with benchmark disability) eligibility to only four specific categories: leprosy cured, acid attack victims, muscular dystrophy, and dwarfism, and consequential exclusion of several other benchmark disabilities such as blindness and locomotor disability.
The petitioner’s counsel submitted the recruitment notification not only unlawfully restricted eligibility but also imposed a domicile requirement, disqualifying persons with benchmark disabilities who are not residents of Uttarakhand.
The advertisement was alleged to be contrary to Section 34 of the RPwD Act, which mandates 4 per cent reservation for persons with benchmark disabilities in government establishments, with 1 per cent specifically for blindness and low vision and another 1 per cent for locomotor disabilities.
It sought quashing of the advertisement to the extent it excludes non-domiciled PwBD candidates and restricts eligibility to only four sub-categories. PTI SJK SJK AMK AMK
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