HC allows state to reassess disabilities of employees due to ‘several bogus’ claims

Government employees had challenged the validity of a June 2025 order ordering all state departments to verify the disability of employees who had secured jobs through the PwD quota

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has allowed the Maharashtra government to go ahead with its special drive to reassess the extent of disabilities among all employees who secured jobs or obtained service benefits in government, semi-government and aided institutions under the Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) quota “as a one-time measure”.

Mumbai, India – 22, April 2025: The Indian National Flag at half-mast at the Mantralaya building to mourn the demise of Pope Francis, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

“The verification exercise has become necessary due to several bogus PwDs having been noticed,” the division bench of justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri said, while disposing of a large bunch of petitions filed by government employees.

They had challenged the validity of a June 2025 Government Resolution ordering all state departments to verify the disability of employees who had secured jobs through the PwD quota or were receiving benefits meant for PwD category candidates.

The employees had approached the high court after the state government either suspended them, stopped paying their salaries, cancelled their appointments in aided institutions or transferred them.

They contended that it was unfair to force them to undergo medical examinations after working for 10-20 years. They argued that the re-verification was purposeless and amounted to sheer harassment, especially when they have valid disability certificates and Unique Disability Identity (UDID) cards.

The government pointed out that the number of existing employees suddenly suffering from benchmark disabilities had increased manifold after it introduced several service benefits for PwDs, adding that most of them claimed to have a hearing impairment. The state claimed it had detected as many as 350 cases of false disability certificates across departments before the petitions were filed.

The state government also claimed that over 80% of the PwDs who underwent medical examinations were found to have disabilities only to the extent of 0%-20%, much below the benchmark requirement of 40% to avail the benefits of reservation and in-service facilities. Therefore, it argued, the reassessment was necessary in the larger interest of society.

The high court accepted the state government’s argument, ruling that it had the authority to undertake a re-verification process, especially after complaints began pouring in from 2023 about the use of fabricated disability certificates to secure government jobs and service benefits under the PwD category.

“The procurement of bogus disability certificates is not merely a procedural violation; it is an inherently dishonest conduct directed at defrauding the state, depriving genuine persons with disabilities of their rightful entitlements, and enriching oneself through deliberate deception at the expense of a vulnerable class,” the bench said.

“If a laudable scheme of the state in the interest of the genuine PwDs is misused by undeserving candidates pretending to be PwDs, the entire scheme would be a waste, and genuine candidates would be deprived of the benefits of the scheme,” the bench added.

The bench also said the “drastic reduction” in the disability percentage following re-verification usually means either that the original disability was temporary or that the certificate was obtained by adopting “improper means”. Reassessment is, therefore, the only reliable way to uncover fraudulent disability claims, the bench added.

The court directed that all remaining PwD employees should undergo a medical examination before expert panels formed by the state government or opt for voluntary retirement after tendering an affidavit of apology. It further directed that those employees found to have acquired bogus medical certificates or bogus UDID cards, or whose disabilities were found to be up to 10% during re-assessment, should be compulsorily retired from service after departmental inquiries are conducted against them. Employees whose benchmark disabilities are found to be between 11% and 39% should not be given the service benefits thereafter, it added.

The court also struck down the government’s orders suspending PwD category employees, stopping their salaries, cancelling approvals for the recruitment of teachers, and transferring them, and quashed FIRs registered against some employees for allegedly using purportedly false disability certificates.