HYDERABAD: In a major relief to the “medically unfit” drivers, the Hyderabad High Court has ruled that all the drivers of state road transport corporations who were declared medically unfit to drive vehicles on account of disability while in service are entitled to the provision of alternative employment in the corporation.
Justice P Naveen Rao passed this order on a batch of petitions filed by several drivers seeking directions to the corporations to pay salary and allowances payable to the post of the driver for the period during which they were not allowed to perform the duties as driver.
As for the case details, the petitioners were referred to the medical board and the latter found that they were suffering from defective distant vision and declared them as unfit to perform the duties as driver. However, the board certified that they were fit to perform alternative employment. On consideration of the medical board, they were retired as driver and provided employment as ‘Shramik’.
The petitioners’ counsel submitted that the Persons with Disabilities (Equal, Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 was enacted to honour the proclamation on the full participation and equality of the people with the disabilities. The employer is under obligation to give effect to the provisions of the Act. Once a driver is declared unfit to drive irrespective of the nature of disability, alternative job has to be provided. It is mandatory for the corporation to grant protection of pay drawn by the petitioners as driver in the alternative post provided to them, he argued.
On the other hand, the corporation, in its counter affidavit, stated that keeping in view the safety of the passengers, the corporation would not allow those drivers who do not fulfil the requisite medical standards prescribed to discharge their duties as drivers. To mitigate the hardship of such drivers the corporation has been treating the medically unfit drivers as a special category by extending the additional monetary benefits or in considering their cases for providing alternative employment in the corporation.
After hearing both the sides and perusing the material on record and judgments of the Supreme Court and High Courts, Justice Naveen Rao observed: “Having extracted work from the petitioners and utilised their productive years, the respondent corporations (APSRTC and TSRTC) unceremoniously dumped them when they were found no more useful since they have acquired disability and no more fit to drive their vehicles and put them to slavery; give them lower post of Shramik or its equivalent and not granting pay protection; they were deprived salary and allowances when they were put off duty after they were declared unfit to drive; they have joined the list of scores of disabled persons in this country who are ill-treated, neglected and their fundamental and human rights are systematically violated by the States and its instrumentalities. In spite of suffering several decisions, the respondent corporations continue to ill-treat them, drive them to litigation, contest each case tooth and nail and would comply only when intra-court appeal and SLP are dismissed.”
While allowing the petitions, the judge ordered that all the drivers who are not assigned work after they were declared medically unfit are entitled to pay and allowances attached to the post of the driver till they retired from service or alternative job is provided to them, and they shall be paid arrears with 8 per cent interest from the due date to till the date of payment.
The judge made it clear that the said direction is general and applicable to all the similarly-situated drivers. All the drivers, including the petitioners, who are declared medically unfit are entitled to provision of alternative job and that the corporations shall provide alternative job of the same status. For any reason, if alternative job of the same status is not possible and the drivers are adjusted in any other post, they shall be paid the same pay and allowances as were paid to them as drivers. If alternative job cannot be provided, the drivers shall be kept in a supernumerary post until a suitable post is available or till he attains the age of superannuation whichever is earlier and shall be paid the said pay and allowances til l they attain the age of superannuation.