14 hrs ago
Delhi High Court Restores UPSC Candidate’s Disability Protections
Manish Kumar took an important engineering examination run by the Union Public Service Commission.
He passed the written tests and the interview.
A Railway Board medical examination later said that his neurological condition was not suitable for the jobs.
The Railway Board then cancelled his candidature.
Kumar showed that the government had given him a disability certificate and a Unique Disability ID card.
The card described him as having a 45 per cent locomotor disability.
The Central Administrative Tribunal agreed with the Railway Board.
The Delhi High Court disagreed and set those decisions aside.
The Delhi High Court set aside decisions cancelling Manish Kumar’s candidature in the 2017 UPSC Engineering Services Examination.
Kumar had passed the preliminary exam, mains examination and personality test before a Railway Board medical examination raised concerns about his neurological condition.
The Railway Board said Generalised Dystonia with Myoclonus and Dysarthria was not an identified disability suitable for the available engineering posts.
Kumar’s government-issued Unique Disability ID card classified him as having a 45 per cent locomotor disability.
The court ruled that the Central Administrative Tribunal had erred and relied on a precedent concerning valid disability certificates.
- Who
- Manish Kumar, the Railway Board, the Central Administrative Tribunal and the Delhi High Court.
- What
- The Delhi High Court set aside the cancellation of Kumar’s candidature in the UPSC Engineering Services Examination.
- Where
- The dispute was decided by the Delhi High Court in India.
- When
- Kumar applied for the 2017 examination; the Railway Board cancelled his candidature in March 2018, and the case was transferred to the tribunal in 2019.
- Why
- The court found that Kumar’s government-issued disability documentation recognised a 45 per cent locomotor disability and that the tribunal had wrongly treated him as ineligible.
Delhi High Court and Kumar
Railway Board and Tribunal
Disability classification
Delhi High Court and Kumar
Kumar argued that his certificates and Unique Disability ID card established a locomotor disability affecting movement and related activities.
Railway Board and Tribunal
The Railway Board argued that his neurological condition was not an identified disability suitable for the services and posts offered through the examination.
Validity of further medical assessment
Delhi High Court and Kumar
The court held that a person with a valid disability certificate cannot be subjected to a medical examination that reaches a contrary conclusion.
Railway Board and Tribunal
The Railway Board relied on the medical examination and the Central Administrative Tribunal’s reasoning in treating Kumar as ineligible.
Key facts
- Candidate
- Manish Kumar
- Examination
- Union Public Service Commission Engineering Services Examination 2017
- Disability classification
- 45 per cent locomotor disability
- Medical finding
- Generalised Dystonia with Myoclonus and Dysarthria
- Candidature cancellation
- Railway Board decision issued in March 2018
- Earlier tribunal ruling
- The Central Administrative Tribunal dismissed Kumar’s plea
- High Court outcome
- The Delhi High Court set aside the Railway Board and tribunal decisions
Quotes
Justices C Hari Shankar and Vinod Kumar
Delhi High Court judges who heard Manish Kumar’s challenge to the cancellation of his candidature
“The medical certificate clearly demonstrates that, owing to the ailment suffered by the petitioner, his movement and his ability to execute activities relating to movement were affected.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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