The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that all persons with disabilities (PwD), irrespective of the extent of their disability, must be provided the same benefits in competitive examinations, including the provision of scribes and compensatory time.
Reinforcing the principle that reasonable accommodation is a legal right, not a privilege, the top court directed the Union government to revisit its 2022 office memorandum to remove distinctions between PwD and persons with benchmark disabilities (PwBD) for the purpose of providing benefits. PwBD are assessed as having a disability of 40% or more.
A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan emphasised that denying a scribe or extra time to a candidate based on their level of disability violates the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016. The ruling came in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a man suffering from Focal Hand Dystonia, a form of Writer’s Cramp, who was denied the assistance of a scribe or extra time in an examination.
The top court rejected the artificial bifurcation between PwD and PwBD, stating that all benefits available to PwBD candidates must also be extended to PwD candidates.
{{/usCountry}}The top court rejected the artificial bifurcation between PwD and PwBD, stating that all benefits available to PwBD candidates must also be extended to PwD candidates.
{{/usCountry}}“The principle of reasonable accommodation is central to ensuring equality for all persons with disabilities; and denying the facility of a scribe or compensatory time constitutes discrimination under the RPwD Act, 2016,” the bench ruled. It further held that examination bodies must ensure accessibility measures at centres and comply with the RPwD Act to prevent discrimination.
The petitioner, Gulshan Kumar, had challenged the August 10, 2022, office memorandum (OM) issued by the ministry of social justice and empowerment, arguing that while it sought to extend benefits to disabled candidates with less than 40% disability, it failed to fully embrace the principles of reasonable accommodation.
The Supreme Court agreed, stating that the lack of uniformity in implementing these policies was causing confusion and discrimination. “There have been instances where examination bodies refused to extend benefits to PwD candidates due to the absence of a clear-cut grievance redressal mechanism. This lack of uniformity causes confusion, discrimination, and undermines the efficiency and effectiveness of the examination process,” it noted.
The court also rejected the argument that private recruitment bodies or institutions are not bound by the RPwD Act, holding that fundamental rights under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution can be enforced against private entities as well.
Citing a Constitution bench ruling in Kaushal Kishor Vs State of Uttar Pradesh (2016), the bench held: “The benefits conferred by the statute should be provided to all PwD candidates and cannot be denied on the ground of absence of accountability or lack of duty on enforceability.”
The court then ordered the government to revise the 2022 guidelines within two months to ensure a uniform, non-discriminatory policy for all PwD candidates. It outlined several key directives for improving examination accessibility and enforcement of disability rights.
All authorities, recruitment agencies and examination bodies must uniformly follow the revised guidelines, directed the bench, while also ordering regular sensitisation drives at educational institutions to raise awareness. The court also said that examination bodies must offer multiple modes for PwD candidates to take their tests, such as scribe assistance, Braille format, large print question papers or audio recording of answers, besides periodically inspecting and reviewing the guidelines issued by different examination bodies to ensure their proper implementation and rectify any defects or inconsistencies.
The judgment favoured regular training of examination officials and staff to understand and address the reasonable accommodation needs of PwD candidates effectively, in addition to introducing incentive programmes for encouraging individuals to become scribes.