RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh High Court issued notices to the State Government and the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC), seeking their response within four weeks on a writ petition challenging the state's recruitment policy for persons with disabilities (PwD) in government services.
The petition raises concerns over the non-allocation of separate reservations for individuals with blindness and low vision in public employment.
The petitioner Vivek Singh—a resident of Bhilai affected by Stargardt disease resulting in nearly 90% visual impairment—claimed that under Sections 33 and 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, 4% of total posts in public recruitment must be reserved for persons with benchmark disabilities. Crucially, Section 34 mandates a specific 1% sub-reservation exclusively for persons with blindness and low vision.
He submitted various CGPSC recruitment advertisements showing that PwD-reserved seats are pooled into a single common category rather than being sub-categorised.
Petitioner's counsel, lawyer Sudiep Shrivastava, argued that grouping visually impaired candidates alongside candidates with locomotor or hearing disabilities creates an unfair competitive environment, ultimately depriving visually impaired applicants of employment opportunities. He noted that neighbouring states like Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, as well as UPSC central civil service examinations, maintain distinct sub-reserved quotas for visually impaired candidates.
Additional Advocate General Anand Dadariya (representing the State) and Advocate Sudeep Agrawal (representing CGPSC) raised preliminary objections regarding petition's maintainability. They contended that the petitioner is not currently appearing in an active exam and that the relief sought resembles a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
In response, the petitioner's counsel asserted that the petitioner faced setbacks due to the lack of sub-reserved posts in past state recruitment drives.
Keeping the question of maintainability open, High Court Justice A K Prasad instructed both the State Government and the CGPSC to submit their formal replies within four weeks, when the matter will be taken up next.