Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The Delhi High Court pulled up the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) for restricting Persons with Disabilities (PwD) from applying in a recruitment process, directing them to strictly comply with the 4 per cent reservation for PwDs as per The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 (RPwD).
Expressing concern on the status quoist approach of departments in the implementation of the law, a division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula in its October 16 order said, “From 1995 to 2016, the legislative wisdom experienced a significant growth. However, the status quoist approach in implementation of the legislation in its true spirit still prevails. We are reminded of the classic French expression – Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose – which means the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Status quo means to keep things the way they are and not to disturb the current position of things.
The HC set aside KVS’s August 2018 recruitment advertisement for Principal, Vice Principal, Post Graduate Teachers, Trained Graduate Teachers, Librarian etc, holding it discriminatory and in violation of the RPwD Act.
Issuing a slew of directions, the HC said that KVS will conduct an audit of the total number of vacancies in the establishment and prepare a vacancy-based roster within 3 months along with a timeline for filling up the vacancies.
It also clarified that the KVS shall reserve the principals’ posts for persons with benchmark disabilities in the blind or low-vision category at a minimum of 1 per cent and not create subject-wise sub-categories within a cadre.
In its judgment, the bench noted that the Constitution of India provides a special protection for certain classes, including PwD, and every establishment is bound to take steps and act in accordance with the PwD Act.
The court underscored that despite a UN convention and two legislations, we were struggling to fulfill promises made to PwD who are our fellow citizens. “Instead of providing an equal space to grow, we have been compelling the persons with disabilities to prove, time and again, that they are capable of a lot more than we think,” the bench said.
On the advertisement, the HC remarked that it put restrictions on the potential of PwDs to participate in the recruitment process to their full ability as the distinction was purely on the basis of disability.
The petitioner, National Federation of the Blind, alleged non-implementation of the reservation for (PwDs), particularly for blind persons, in the recruitment process.
It was argued that the advertisement excluded the post of principal from the posts reserved for persons with visual disability and also did not reserve 4 per cent posts for the PwD category against the total number of vacancies in a cadre, in accordance with the PwD Act.
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
