Jammu & Kashmir High Court quashes cancellation of visually impaired law graduate's candidature for AAI job

The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court recently quashed the cancellation of selection of a 100% visually impaired woman for the post of Junior Executive (Law) in Airports Authority of India (AAI) [Shivani Misri V/s Union of India]..Justice Javed Iqbal Wani ruled that the rejection of Shivani Misri's candidature by the recruiting authority was arbitrary, discriminatory and in violation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. "The respondents are directed to revisit and reconsider the case of the petitioner having regard to the provisions of Section 3 (5) supra, inasmuch as the law laid down by the Apex Court in this regard ... Let the aforesaid exercise be commenced and concluded by the respondents within a period of six weeks from today and a decision thereof be conveyed to the petitioner within two weeks thereafter," the Court ordered. .Misri studied law from Jammu University and completed her Master of Laws (LLM) degree from a university in Punjab in 2022. She is currently serving as a Law Professor at MIET Law College, Jammu.In 2022, she had had applied for the post of Junior Executive (Law) under the reserved category for persons with benchmark disabilities. Out of 18 total posts advertised by AAI, three were earmarked for candidates with visual impairments including "blindness" and "low vision.".Having successfully cleared the computer-based test, Misri was declared qualified and her result was formally notified in December 2023. However, during document verification, her result was withheld and she was later informed that she did not meet the “functional requirements” of the job - “seeing, reading and writing.”.Despite submitting a fresh disability certificate and an affidavit clarifying the disability category, her candidature was ultimately cancelled through a communication dated December 13, 2024. She then moved the High Court.In response, the Central government argued that she did not meet the functional requirements. It was also alleged that she had declared herself to be a case of 'low vision' but the certificate submitted by her categorized her condition as "Blindness"..The Court found that the authorities had overlooked Section 3(5) of the Person With Disability Act, which mandates that authorities must ensure reasonable accommodations to facilitate full participation of persons with disability.It also noted that AAI, while advertising the post in question, had in explicit terms notified the category of “blind” as well as “low vision” candidates eligible for the post.Thus, the Court quashed the cancellation of Misri's candidature and called for a review..Advocate Nikhil Padha appeared for the petitioner.Advocate Inderjeet Gupta appeared for the respondents.[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.