Supreme Court strikes down rule ousting visually impaired in MP judicial service

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that Persons with Disabilities (PwD) candidates must not face discrimination in the judicial services recruitment process and emphasized the need for the government to implement reservations for them to ensure an inclusive framework.

A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan struck down Rule 6A of the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1994, which had excluded visually impaired candidates and those with no vision from seeking appointment in the judicial service.

The apex court had taken suo moto cognizance of the matter in March last year, following a letter petition from the mother of a visually impaired candidate aspiring for judicial service in Madhya Pradesh.

Transforming the letter petition into a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution, the Bench led by then CJI D.Y. Chandrachud issued notices to the Union government, state government, and Registrar General of the MP High Court. The court also appointed senior advocate Gaurav Agrawal as amicus curiae to assist in the matter.

In an interim order, the Supreme Court had directed that visually impaired candidates who had secured the minimum qualifying marks in the preliminary examination be allowed to appear for the main examination.

“The High Court shall make arrangements to permit a scribe for each visually impaired candidate appearing for the main examination. These candidates shall also be given an additional 20 minutes per hour to complete the examination,” the Court had ordered.

Rule 6A, inserted in June 2023, specifies that 6 percent of posts will be horizontally reserved for persons with locomotor disabilities, including leprosy cured, dwarfism, muscular dystrophy, and acid attack victims, excluding cerebral palsy, as defined under Section 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

(With IANS Inputs)