The Supreme Court dealt a major blow to the proverbial glass ceiling that seeks to confine Persons with Disability (PWD) to the lower strata of government jobs..In a case filed by some Prasar Bharti Corporation employees, the Court ruled that once a post is identified as suitable to be filled by PWD’s, it must be reserved for them irrespective of the mode of recruitment adopted by the State for filling up the post..The judgment was delivered by a Bench of Justices Jasti Chelameswar and AM Sapre..At the centre of the debate were two personal memoranda issued by the Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India, that were alleged to deprive the petitioners of the statutory reservation granted to them by the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995..A government notification identified some posts as suitable to be filled by Persons with Disability (PWD). However, this also had the effect of depriving the petitioners of reservation through promotion to the category of Group ‘A’ and ‘B’ positions, since these allowed reservation only when the posts were filled through direct recruitment..Accepting the contentions of the petitioners and holding the memoranda illegal and inconsistent with the 1995 Act, the Court ruled that PWDs were different from backward classes, for whom reservation has to follow the criteria laid down in Article 16(1) of the Constitution that mandates equality in employment opportunities in government jobs..Regarding the respondents’ contention that the reasons outlined in Indra Sawhney & Ors. v. Union of India and Ors., must also apply to bar reservation in promotions, the Court held that the basis for providing reservation for PWD is physical disability and not any of the criteria forbidden under Article 16(1). Therefore, the rule of no reservation in promotions as laid down in Indra Sawhney has no application to the PWD..The Court also lamented the abysmal situation currently prevailing, in which the upper echelons of governmental hierarchy remain out of reach for PWD’s..“It is disheartening to note that (admittedly) low numbers of PWD (much below three per cent) are in government employment long years after the 1995 Act. Barriers to their entry must, therefore, be scrutinized by rigorous standards within the legal framework of the 1995 Act.”.The Court, therefore, declared the office memoranda as illegal and inconsistent wit the 1995 Act. It directed the government to extend 3 percent reservation to PWD in all Identified posts in Group A and Group B, irrespective of the mode of filling up of such posts..Read the judgment below.
The Supreme Court dealt a major blow to the proverbial glass ceiling that seeks to confine Persons with Disability (PWD) to the lower strata of government jobs..In a case filed by some Prasar Bharti Corporation employees, the Court ruled that once a post is identified as suitable to be filled by PWD’s, it must be reserved for them irrespective of the mode of recruitment adopted by the State for filling up the post..The judgment was delivered by a Bench of Justices Jasti Chelameswar and AM Sapre..At the centre of the debate were two personal memoranda issued by the Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India, that were alleged to deprive the petitioners of the statutory reservation granted to them by the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995..A government notification identified some posts as suitable to be filled by Persons with Disability (PWD). However, this also had the effect of depriving the petitioners of reservation through promotion to the category of Group ‘A’ and ‘B’ positions, since these allowed reservation only when the posts were filled through direct recruitment..Accepting the contentions of the petitioners and holding the memoranda illegal and inconsistent with the 1995 Act, the Court ruled that PWDs were different from backward classes, for whom reservation has to follow the criteria laid down in Article 16(1) of the Constitution that mandates equality in employment opportunities in government jobs..Regarding the respondents’ contention that the reasons outlined in Indra Sawhney & Ors. v. Union of India and Ors., must also apply to bar reservation in promotions, the Court held that the basis for providing reservation for PWD is physical disability and not any of the criteria forbidden under Article 16(1). Therefore, the rule of no reservation in promotions as laid down in Indra Sawhney has no application to the PWD..The Court also lamented the abysmal situation currently prevailing, in which the upper echelons of governmental hierarchy remain out of reach for PWD’s..“It is disheartening to note that (admittedly) low numbers of PWD (much below three per cent) are in government employment long years after the 1995 Act. Barriers to their entry must, therefore, be scrutinized by rigorous standards within the legal framework of the 1995 Act.”.The Court, therefore, declared the office memoranda as illegal and inconsistent wit the 1995 Act. It directed the government to extend 3 percent reservation to PWD in all Identified posts in Group A and Group B, irrespective of the mode of filling up of such posts..Read the judgment below.