MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday observed that a person should not be denied a job on the ground of disability unless the disability prevents them from discharging duties entailed with the position. Government bodies should also adopt a humanitarian approach and not go into technicalities while formulating laws for medical examination of disabilities, it added.
Justice Vivek Kumar Singh made the observations while allowing a petition by R Balamurugan, whose candidature for the post of ‘constable’ in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) was rejected last year based on a review medical report which said he has a polydactyl left thumb, which is a congenital condition in which a person has extra fingers or toes.
According to the standing counsel for the Union government, Balamurugan was declared unfit only after he was subjected to X-ray and doppler scan. As per Clause 6 (27) of the Revised Uniformed Guidelines for Review Medical Examination in CAPF and Assam Rifles, polydactyly in hands or feet is a ground for rejection of candidature.
In the opinion of the medical board, polydactyly can interfere with vital operational tasks such as proper weapon handling and recoil control, and duties involving grip, climb and tactical movements, the counsel argued.
Admission of candidates with anatomical variations in combat roles leads to risks to personal and unit safety, and affects uniformity of training and deployment, which is considered a permanent disqualification across the armed forces to maintain high standards of combat readiness and functional integrity, the counsel added.
Balamurugan, however, denied the allegations saying he does not suffer from polydactyly and that his left thumb finger is merely ‘unsized’. He said that he was successful during the physical efficiency tests and that the medical examiner had not stated how his deformity would affect his job efficiency.
Further, the revised guidelines give discretionary power to the medical examination board to accept one’s candidature in the event of minor acceptable defects, as long as they do not interfere with their efficiency in discharging duties.
Following this, Justice Singh referred to judgments rendered by various high courts on similar cases, and observed that disability should not be a barrier to government jobs and that any candidate with minor deformities that don’t significantly impact his or her ability to perform the duties of the post has to be considered for selection. He set aside the rejection order and directed the review medical board to re-conduct the medical examination on the petitioner.