New Delhi: A welfare state is expected to create conducive conditions for its differently abled citizens by providing them avenues for public employment, the Delhi High Court has said, while ordering a person with visual impairment to be appointed in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
A bench headed by Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said the State is enjoined to create conditions and opportunities for the betterment of citizens with disabilities and those differently abled under the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act which safeguards their rightful means of livelihood in respect of public employment.
The court made the observations while hearing a petition by Vishv Mohan, a candidate for the All India Services for the year 2015 under the ‘Visually Handicapped’ category which requires a person seeking benefit to have a benchmark disability of 40 per cent.
“Under the provisions of the PWD Act, the State is enjoined to create conditions and opportunities for the welfare and betterment of the citizens with disabilities and those who are differently abled. The Central Government had enacted the said Act to ensure that the citizens falling in this category are not deprived of their rightful means of livelihood in respect of public employment,” said the bench, also comprising Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, in a recent order.
“It is with a view to give impetus to the beneficial provisions of the said Act, that the Central Government and the State Governments created various avenues for public employment of such differently abled citizens. The welfare State is expected to create conditions which are conducive to such citizens by providing avenues for public employment,” the court said.
The petitioner, who suffered from ‘high myopia with isometropic amblyopia’ (decreased eyesight), has challenged the reliance of authorities on certain medical reports which stated he had visual disability of 20 per cent only to cancel his candidature when the AIIMS’ disability certificate assessed the disability at 75 per cent.
The court directed the Centre to appoint the petitioner in the Indian Administrative Service (2015 Batch) with all consequential benefits in respect of seniority and promotion on notional basis.
The court considered the material on record and observed, admittedly, the petitioner was not only a person with visual impairment to the extent of 60 per cent but also a brilliant candidate who secured the 5th rank in his category, and in such circumstances, depriving him of public employment on the basis of “inconclusive medical report” was “unfair, unjust, whimsical and arbitrary”.
“We do not think it will serve any purpose nor would be appropriate to ask the petitioner to undertake yet another medical check-up in as much as more than 6 years have passed since the petitioner cleared the CSE (Civil Service Examination) 2014 and in view of the definite findings recorded and the medical opinion rendered by Govt. Hospitals and Competent Authorities, both pre and post the impugned Appellate Medical Board Report, nothing survives to be reinvestigated,” the court said.
“As a consequence, Respondent No.1/DoPT is directed to allot the cadre and appoint the Petitioner in Indian Administrative Service (2015 Batch) considering him eligible in so far as the Central Civil Examination, 2014 is concerned with all consequential benefits in respect of seniority and promotion on notional basis,” it ordered.
