Uttarakhand High Court
WPSS/1622/2024 on 19 November, 2025
Author: Manoj Kumar Tiwari
Bench: Manoj Kumar Tiwari
2025:UHC:10283
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WPSS/1622/2024
WPSS/1632/2024
WPSS/1742/2024
Hon'ble Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.
Mr. B.S. Kathayat, Mr. Mr. Vinay Kumar and Mr. M.S. Bhandari, Advocate for the petitioners.
2. Mr. Narayan Dutt, Standing Counsel for the State of Uttarakhand.
3. Mr. Pankaj Miglani and Ms. Menka Tripathi, Advocates for the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission.
4. Since common questions of fact and law are involved in these petitions, therefore, these petitions are clubbed together and decided by this common judgment.
5. Petitioners are physically disabled persons, who suffer from locomotor disability. They participated in a selection for the post of Junior Engineer (Civil) held by Uttarakhand Public Service Commission. As many as 1097 vacancies on the posts of Junior Engineers were notified, vide advertisement dated 14.10.2023, out of which 210 were in Public Works Department. Out of 210 vacancies notified for Public Works Department, 20 were reserved for persons with disabilities.
6. Petitioners claimed reservation available to physically disabled persons; however, benefit of reservation was not given to them, even though no one was selected against 7 vacancies reserved for persons with disabilities and these vacancies were reportedly carried forward on the ground that no candidate in partially deaf category was available. Petitioners rely upon Section 34(2) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, 2025:UHC:10283 which reads as under:-
"34 (2) Where in any recruitment year any vacancy cannot be filled up due to non-availability of a suitable person with benchmark disability or for any other sufficient reasons, such vacancy shall be carried forward in the succeeding recruitment year and if in the succeeding recruitment year also suitable person with benchmark disability is not available, it may first be filled by interchange among the five categories and only when there is no person with disability available for the post in that year, the employer shall fill up the vacancy by appointment of a person, other than a person with disability:
Provided that if the nature of vacancies in an establishment is such that a given category of person cannot be employed, the vacancies may be interchanged among the five categories with the prior approval of the appropriate Government."
7. By relying upon the said provision, learned counsel for the petitioner contended that the vacancies earmarked for partially deaf candidates were earlier advertised on 27.4.2015 and result of the said selection was published on 10.01.2018; since all vacancies reserved for partially deaf could not be supplied for want of suitable candidates, therefore, 7 vacancies available for partially deaf candidates were carried forward for the next selection. Thus, it is contended that the 7 vacancies, which have again been carried forward, are the vacancies, which were carried forward in the last selection, initiated in 2015, therefore, these vacancies cannot be carried forward in view of provision contained in Section 34(2) of the Act.
8. Mr. Pankaj Miglani and Ms. Menka Tripathi, learned counsels appearing for Uttarakhand Public Service Commission submit that the requisition sent by the Government to the Commission is silent as to whether the aforesaid 7 vacancies, reserved for partially deaf, are the carried forward vacancies or they are fresh vacancies. It is further contended that there was no indication in the requisition that the posts reserved for a particular disability, if remaining vacant, can be supplied by candidates suffering from other kind of disability, therefore, Public Service Commission had no option, but to carry forward the vacancies reserved for partially deaf candidates.
2025:UHC:10283
9. Learned State Counsel submits that if Public Service Commission had any doubt in the matter, it could have sought clarification from the employer.
10. Learned State Counsel was asked to get instructions as to whether post of Junior Engineer (Civil) in Public Works Department is identified under Section 33 of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, for a person with locomotor disability. Today, on instructions, he submits that the post of Junior Engineer, is identified for appointing a person with locomotor disability as well. Thus, there is no legal impediment in appointing petitioners as Junior Engineer (Civil) in Public Works Department.
11. Having regard to the statutory scheme as contained in Section 34(2) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, this Court thinks that ends of justice would be met, if petitioners are permitted to make representation(s) to the Secretary, Uttarakhand Public Service Commission.
12. The writ petitions are, accordingly, disposed of with liberty to petitioners to make representation(s) to the Secretary, Uttarakhand Public Service Commission. If they make such representation(s) within two weeks from today, decision thereupon shall be taken by the Secretary of the Commission, within six weeks thereafter. The request, if made by the Commission for approval, to the State Government, shall be considered by the Secretary, Public Works Department, within three weeks from the date of receipt of such request. Till decision is taken in the matter, 7 vacancies reserved for physically challenged persons, shall not be filled.
(Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.) 19.11.2025 Navin NAVEEN Digitally signed by NAVEEN CHANDRA DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=3be23325146e76a0642bdf4943fb9046f4 87df006da82a131bb4e4403d3c0a15, CHANDRA postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=18167EEFB5CA8CFFD421A103819 DA875643AF56D653D095C6ED9A86DAAB21CE5, cn=NAVEEN CHANDRA Date: 2025.11.19 18:12:06 +05'30'