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Showing contexts for: disability act in Nishant Ranjan vs Govt. Of India on 1 May, 2014Matching Fragments
(b) To be passed as fit for appointment, a candidate must be in good mental and bodily health and free from any physical defect likely to interfere with the efficient performance of the duties on his/her appointment. From the above, the wordings of the Regulations are clear that it enables the medical examiners to judge the suitability of candidates against the different jobs on offer in terms of physical standards. A candidate, who does not confirm to the physical standards, is categorically ruled out. Of course, it is within the competence of the Medical Board that where a candidate does not confirm to the physical standards set for a service, it may recommend him for other services. As per the Note to the above Regulations, the Medical Board is to keep the provisions of The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunity, Protection of Right and Full Participation) Act, 1995 [hereinafter referred to as Disability Act] wherein the extent of permissible disability has been defined. Bilateral flat foot is not a disease, which has been separately mentioned, but would be placed under the general heading of the locomotor disability as defined under Section 2(i) of the Disability Act as under:-
11. Reading the Disability Act and the provisions together, we find that there is no contradiction between the two as has been sought to be created by the learned counsel for the applicant. The Disability Act provides, inter alia, laying down the disabilities and the extent to which they can be permitted to join services. However, the very fact services have been excluded from this Act is clear that while respecting the rights of the disabled persons, the framers of the Act did not wish to impose any efficiency burden with the organization. In a landmark decision namely in the case of Government of India versus Ravi Prakash Gupta [2010 (7) SCC 626], the Honble Supreme Court, inter alia, directed that the law should be implemented and the fact of appointment to the IAS during the period from 1995-2006 had been totally excluded. The Honble Supreme Court had directed that all the vacancies for these years should be calculated and filled up.
12. In the case of Union of India and Another versus National Federation of Blind and Others [2013 (10) SCC 772], the Honble Supreme Court once again directed vacancy based rather than the post based reservation while implementing the Disability Act. The Honble Court further held that Union of India, the State Governments as well as the Union Territories have a categorical obligation under the Constitution of India and under various International treaties relating to human rights in general and treaties for disabled persons in particular, to protect the rights of disabled persons. The Honble Court further bemoaned the fact that despite having been enacted the Disability Act way back in 1995, the disabled people have failed to get the required benefits. The Honble Court further held that computation of reservation for persons with disabilities has to be computed in case of Group A, B, C and D posts in an identical manner on the total number of vacancies in the cadre strength and that the bar of 50% reservation as laid down in the case of Indra Sawhney vs. Union of India and others [AIR 1993 SC 477] would not be applicable in respect to the implementation of the Disability Act. However, nowhere has the Honble Supreme Court or any other court for that matter held that a person ineligible for a particular post should be recruited for that post. We have not come across any instances where a person suffering with impaired vision is directed to be recruited as a Pilot to the Air Force and person with locomotor disability is recruited to the officer corps of the Indian Army. Therefore, the principle sustained that the recruitment is to be made without comprosming on the quality of services for efficiency of the organization.
Assistant Naval Store Officer Grade-I (Mechanical Engineering Posts) in Indian Navy.
Central Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Service (Mechanical Engineering Posts).
Assistant Executive Engineer Group A in the Geological Survey of India.
Indian Inspection Service, Group A (Mechanical Engineering Posts).
Indian Supply Service Group A (Mechanical Engineering Posts).
Indian Defence Service of Engineers (Mechanical Engineering Posts).
Central engineering Service (Roads) Group A(Mechanical Engineering Posts). These jobs particularly Indian Railways, Defence etc. involve a strenuous schedule where persons are required to put in long hours on work and in times of crisis for days together. For the instances in the Railways when accidents or other emergency takes place, officers may be required to put in duties continuously for days together and spending for long hours supervising the work. Ministries participating in the scheme of Engineering Services Examination are not sedentary Services and the requirements have already been laid down. The Medical Rules as have been cited above are also clear on this point. As we have already noted we do not subscribe to the learned counsel for the applicant that all jobs are included in the Disability Act unless and otherwise excluded. Where the requirements of the jobs have been specifically provided, these requirements have to be respected unless and otherwise not within the ambit of the Section 33 of the Disability Act.