The Supreme Court has sought a response from Uttarakhand for excluding blind and locomotor-disabled candidates from judicial exams. Justice Pardiwala called the state’s move “very bad” and issued urgent fresh notices.
New Delhi: Today, on July 25, the Supreme Court of India, took serious note of a petition that challenged the Uttarakhand government’s judicial services recruitment notification for excluding persons with blindness and locomotor disabilities.
The top court issued formal notices to the Uttarakhand government, the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission, and the Registrar General of the Uttarakhand High Court.
A two-judge bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan was hearing a plea filed by Sravya Sindhuri, a visually impaired candidate.
She challenged the advertisement issued on May 16, 2024, for the Uttarakhand Judicial Services Examination, which is scheduled to begin on August 31.
The petition stated that the notification unlawfully excluded people with blindness and locomotor disabilities from applying for the exam.
During the hearing, Justice Pardiwala expressed strong disapproval of the exclusion, stating,
“That is very bad, very bad on the part of the government.”
This comment came after it was revealed that neither the state nor the commission had sent a representative to the court, despite being issued earlier notices.
In response, the bench issued fresh notices due to the urgent nature of the issue.
The petitioner’s lawyer argued that the exclusionary criteria in the advertisement go against constitutional rights and violate provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016.
According to the petition, the notification only allowed people with four types of benchmark disabilities—leprosy cured, acid attack victims, muscular dystrophy, and dwarfism—to apply. It completely excluded other categories like blindness and locomotor disabilities.
Furthermore, the petition objected to a domicile requirement in the notification, which barred PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) candidates from other states from applying.
This, the petitioner argued, goes against Section 34 of the RPwD Act, which mandates a minimum of 4% reservation in public employment for persons with benchmark disabilities, including 1% each for those with blindness/low vision and locomotor disabilities.
The petition also highlighted a recent Supreme Court judgment dated March 3, 2024, where the Court had struck down similar discriminatory rules in the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service Rules.
In that case, the top court had ruled that blind candidates cannot be denied the opportunity to apply for judicial services, affirming that the right against disability-based discrimination under the RPwD Act must be upheld as a fundamental right.
Taking strength from that ruling, the petitioner requested the Supreme Court to cancel the Uttarakhand recruitment notification to the extent that it excludes a large section of disabled candidates.
The petition urged the Court to ensure that all categories of persons with benchmark disabilities are treated equally and given the right to compete in public employment opportunities like the judicial services exam.
This case once again brings to the forefront the pressing need for inclusive policies that comply with both the Constitution and the RPwD Act, protecting the rights of people with disabilities across India.
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