List steps to identify Group-A, B posts for those with disability, Bombay HC asks state

The court also directed that the affidavit shall set out what exercise has been carried out and proposed to be carried out, including the data and statistics that has been collated so far to identify the posts and the outer limit within which the exercise would be completed.

Rejecting the state government’s plea for vacating stay on filling some promotional posts in Maharashtra, the Bombay high court (HC) on Thursday directed the chief secretary to file an affidavit setting out steps taken and proposed to be taken to identify promotional posts in various state departments which can be held by persons with benchmark disabilities.

Bombay high court. (HT FILE)

The division bench of justice Amjad Sayed and justice Madhav Jamdar further directed that the affidavit shall set out what exercise has been carried out and proposed to be carried out, including the data and statistics that has been collated so far to identify the posts and the outer limit within which the exercise would be completed.

The court was hearing a bunch of petitions filed through advocates Vinod Sangvikar, Sugandh Deshmukh and Mahendra Shingade, by persons with disabilities complaining about denial of reservation-in-promotion to Group-A and Group-B posts.

Acting on their petitions, HC has in November 2020 stayed the process for finalising promotions to Group-A and Group-B posts in some departments after noticing that the right to reservation in promotion of the physically challenged persons was recognised by the Supreme Court, and a proposal for working out modalities for providing such reservation was already placed before the state cabinet for approval.

Though HC has earlier refused to vacate the stay on January 15 this year by observing that the promotion process cannot be allowed without securing the rights of the petitioners, the general administration department had renewed the plea claiming that the Apex court had subsequently thought it fit to place the matter of reservation-in-promotion for persons with benchmark disabilities for review before a larger bench.

The argument, however, failed to impress upon the court. On Thursday, the division bench again refused to vacate the stay on finalising promotions saying that the state government had not set out any positive steps taken so far to secure the rights of persons with disabilities.

But, HC allowed the state to grant promotions to officers who are due to retire on or before February 28 this year and whose promotions got stuck due to HC’s interim orders.