Shashwati Chowdhury
Published on: August 16, 2022 at 21:20 IST
The Kerala High Court has held that the government-aided educational institutions’ recruiting procedures in which reservations are made for people with disabilities must be enforced.
The Court additionally held that appointments made after 2018 cannot be implemented unless such reservations were granted.
Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V. added that the right of reservation in employment granted to the disabled under the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 cannot be taken away by erecting barriers. He also clarified that approval of appointments already granted shall not be unsettled.
The court was of the opinion, “In order to enable persons with disabilities to lead a life of equal dignity and worth, it is not enough to mandate that discrimination against them is impermissible. That is necessary, but not sufficient.”
“We must equally ensure, as a society, that we provide them the additional support and facilities that are necessary for them to offset the impact of their disability.”
The court was considering a batch of three petitions that highlighted to the State’s and the aided school managers’ ongoing disregard for the Act’s requirements.
The court found the petitioners’ arguments to be persuasive after hearing from the parties and analysing a set of precedents on the issue.
The court emphasised that one of the most important factors in empowering and including people with disabilities is work. In addition to citing an Apex Court ruling, Justice Vijayaraghavan stated that social and practical impediments keep disabled individuals from entering the workforce and prevent them from finding work.
Because of this, the Court was of the opinion that the benefit of reservation as envisaged by the Act must be extended to Persons with Disabilities and that the respondents cannot stumble blocks or limiting clause that would violate their legal and constitutional rights to employment discrimination in aided schools.
The petitions were therefore allowed by the Court with certain directions.
