India
SC to Govt: Appoint Blind Man Who Passed CSE 2008 | India News – Times of India
NEW DELHI: Even after clearing the civil services exam in 2008, a 100% visually impaired A person had to run from pillar to post for 16 years to get an appointment letter from the Center.
Pankaj Kumar Srivastava’s struggle came to an end on Tuesday with High Council order the government to appoint him along with 10 other similar candidates who were in the running CSE-2008 merit list against existing vacancies for candidates with a physical disability, either with the IRS or another agency, within three months.
SC criticised the government for failing to properly implement the provisions of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, terming it a “sad state of affairs”.
The government has failed to implement the provisions of PWD Act:SC
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal invoked Article 142, which gives the Supreme Court extraordinary power to do complete justice in the case. The judges agreed with senior advocate A Mariarputham and advocate Rohan Alva appearing for Srivastava.
“In the instant case, the affidavits filed by the appellant-Union of India reveal a sorry state of affairs. It (the government) has failed to implement the provisions of the PWD Act. … Respondent (Srivastava) has been running hither and thither to get appointment, though there is a huge backlog of vacancies in various PWD categories,” the court said.
“There are several vacancies for VI (Visually Impaired) categories in IRS (IT). It has been accepted that from CSE-2014 onwards, candidates for VI category are selected for IRS (IT). Thus, the total number of vacancies for PWD posts in IRS (IT) is 75. By applying the principles governing Section 36 of the PWD Act, 1995, the cases of respondent No. 1 and the other 10 candidates above him in merit could have been considered, especially when there is gross negligence on the part of the Union of India in implementing the provisions of the PWD Act expeditiously. Unfortunately, in the present case, the appellant has at all stages taken a stand which defeats the very purpose of enacting laws for the benefit of persons with disabilities. Had the appellant implemented the PWD Act, 1995 in its true letter and spirit, respondent No. 1 would not have been forced to run hither and thither to get justice,” Oka and Mithal said.
Srivastava had to take a legal battle from the Central Administrative Tribunal to the Supreme Court. Though the petition related to the case is still pending in the Delhi High Court, SC decided to conclude the litigation instead of asking the parties to go back to the HC after noticing that the candidate was pursuing the case since 2009.
Pankaj Kumar Srivastava’s struggle came to an end on Tuesday with High Council order the government to appoint him along with 10 other similar candidates who were in the running CSE-2008 merit list against existing vacancies for candidates with a physical disability, either with the IRS or another agency, within three months.
SC criticised the government for failing to properly implement the provisions of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, terming it a “sad state of affairs”.
The government has failed to implement the provisions of PWD Act:SC
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal invoked Article 142, which gives the Supreme Court extraordinary power to do complete justice in the case. The judges agreed with senior advocate A Mariarputham and advocate Rohan Alva appearing for Srivastava.
“In the instant case, the affidavits filed by the appellant-Union of India reveal a sorry state of affairs. It (the government) has failed to implement the provisions of the PWD Act. … Respondent (Srivastava) has been running hither and thither to get appointment, though there is a huge backlog of vacancies in various PWD categories,” the court said.
“There are several vacancies for VI (Visually Impaired) categories in IRS (IT). It has been accepted that from CSE-2014 onwards, candidates for VI category are selected for IRS (IT). Thus, the total number of vacancies for PWD posts in IRS (IT) is 75. By applying the principles governing Section 36 of the PWD Act, 1995, the cases of respondent No. 1 and the other 10 candidates above him in merit could have been considered, especially when there is gross negligence on the part of the Union of India in implementing the provisions of the PWD Act expeditiously. Unfortunately, in the present case, the appellant has at all stages taken a stand which defeats the very purpose of enacting laws for the benefit of persons with disabilities. Had the appellant implemented the PWD Act, 1995 in its true letter and spirit, respondent No. 1 would not have been forced to run hither and thither to get justice,” Oka and Mithal said.
Srivastava had to take a legal battle from the Central Administrative Tribunal to the Supreme Court. Though the petition related to the case is still pending in the Delhi High Court, SC decided to conclude the litigation instead of asking the parties to go back to the HC after noticing that the candidate was pursuing the case since 2009.
