Plea challenges UPSC preliminary examination notice as neglecting PWD reservation scheme: Delhi HC issues notice

The Delhi High Court today issued notice in a petition challenging the preliminary examination notice issued by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for direct recruitment to 24 civil services of the Union of India (Sambhavana vs UOI)..Notice to the Central Government and UPSC was issued by a Divison Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Prateek Jalan in the petition preferred by Sambhavana, a "registered society of the disabled for the disabled.".As per the notice, the preliminary examination is to take place on October 4, 2020. .It the Petitioner's case that the examination notice completely neglects or annihilates the mandatory minimum reservation scheme for the disabled under Section 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (PWD Act). .In its petition filed through Advocates Krishnan Mahajan and Ajay Chopra, the Petitioner states that under Section 34 of the PWD Act, the Government is under an obligation to, inter alia, appoint or reserve 4% of its total vacancies in the cadre strength for those with benchmark disabilities..However, the impugned UPSC notice only mentions "expected approximate vacancies" which, as a category, does not exist under the PWD Act or the various Office Memorandums issued to safeguard the rights of persons with disability or any judgments passed by any court, the Petitioner has submitted. ."The notice becomes a fraud on the Act since it gives four percent reservation of 796 expected approximate vacancies. To reserve something of that which does not legally exist is to legally give nothing. The question is why did the Union Ministry of Personnel and its department the DoP&T give to the UPSC "expected approximate vacancies", why did the UPSC accept the figures of such expected approximate vacancies and why did the Union Ministry of Social Justice not exercise oversight on the policy of the RPwD Act being defeated in this manner, especially when the Act is pursuant to India's international obligations ...", the Petition reads. .It is also asserted that the UPSC Notice does not equally distribute the vacancies for the persons who are blind, deaf or have locomotor and multiple disabilities and that it fails to take into account the backlog of unfilled reserved vacancies. .Stating that the disabled candidates do not have the physical or the economic wherewithal to withstand this annihilation of their statutory and Constitutional rights to an equal opportunity, the Petitioner has prayed for a direction to quash the preliminary examination notice issued by UPSC. .The matter will be heard next on August 31. .Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.