DNA: New Delhi: Monday,
July 29, 2013.
The Delhi High Court has questioned the 3%
reservation for differently-abled persons holding MBBS degree only in
non-surgical posts. While hearing a plea pertaining to such an appointment, the
Court asked, ”Does the Centre feel that differently-abled persons with valid
MBBS degrees are unfit to perform their duties as doctors in surgical
procedures?” The Court has sought a clarification from the ministry of social
justice and empowerment in this regard.
A bench of Justices Pradip Nandrajog and V
Kameswar Rao has also directed the chief commissioner for persons with
disabilities to appear in the Court on Monday. The Court order follows a plea
in which an ENT surgeon has challenged the appointment of an
orthopedically-handicapped (OPH) candidate for the same post in AIIMS for which
he too had applied.
The surgeon, Dilip Samal, had applied for the post
of senior resident/demonstrator at AIIMS in July last year under the OBC
category. He challenged the appointment of an OPH candidate after his RTI query
revealed that the selected candidate had scored less than the qualifying marks
in written test. Samal was later informed by the AIIMS authorities that as per
procedure those who qualify under the OPH category are adjusted in the
respective category, irrespective of the marks and merits in the entrance exam.
Samal then approached the Central Administrative
Tribunal (CAT) for relief. In January this year, the CAT had set aside the
selection of the OPH candidate Mohammad Mubashshirul Haq. It had ruled that the
AIIMS had not notified any relaxed standards of suitability for the OPH
candidates while inviting applications or any time thereafter. AIIMS, in turn,
challenged CAT’s ruling before the High Court.
The Court took note of the fact that Section 32 of
the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and
Full Participation) Act, 1995 and the DoPT guidelines mandate that authorities
first identify posts to be reserved in medical facilities for persons with
disabilities and specifically earmark them.
And that these seats cannot be adjusted with
vacancies under other categories.
“Two issues arise out of the plea. The first being
whether it is mandatory in law to identify seats reserved for differently-abled
persons in medical specialities when applicants are invited from eligible
candidates. The other issue which arises is a directive issued by the ministry
of social justice and empowerment, government of India, requiring reservation
in the medical field only in non-surgical posts,” the Court said.
“It is the second issue which troubles us more
than the first. Prima facie, we find it strange that the ministry of social
justice and empowerment would be of the opinion that differently-abled persons
per se would be unfit to perform duties as a doctor in a discipline which
requires surgical procedures to be performed,” it said.
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