The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi Government’s Chief Secretary to conduct a special recruitment drive to fill backlogs of vacancies for persons with disabilities (PwDs) in various sectors.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad also established a time schedule for the Delhi government to follow in order to carry out the special recruitment to fill the vacancies.
The bench ordered that the concerned departments or institutions submit a demand to the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) or Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), if applicable, within 30 days for PwD recruitment.
The court ordered the DSSSB or UPSC to perform the written test, interview, or selection process within 30 days after the application deadline.
“The DSSSB/ UPSC, as applicable, shall declare the result and the recruitment procedure shall be completed within 30 days of the date of declaration of result/interview,” it added.
The bench dismissed a PIL filed by the NGO National Federation of the Blind accusing the Delhi government of failing to fill seats reserved for blind and low vision candidates.
The petitioner NGO was also displeased with the authorities’ failure to provide reservation to Disabled Persons (Blind and Low Vision) in accordance with the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights, and Full Participation) Act, 1995, as amended by the Right of Persons with Disabilities Rules 2017.
In response to the court’s order, the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (SCPD) took up the case on February 20 and issued a detailed order outlining the vacancies available to PwDs in several departments.
According to the directive, there are 1351 openings available under direct recruitment quota for PwDs, including 356 vacancies for visually impaired people.
About the promotion quota, the order stated that there are 852 jobs available, including 149 for visually impaired people.
It went on to say that the Delhi government has been asked to fill the vacancies through a special drive.
The bench also ordered the SCPD to continue monitoring the special recruiting drive and to be free to investigate the matter by requesting the roster of open positions from the departments or establishments that have declared the position as “NIL”.
The bench further underlined that any deviation from the timetable would result in contempt of court proceedings, and that suo moto contempt proceedings would be brought about in the event that the court’s and SCPD’s directives were not followed.
