SC stays HC order on job reservation for disabled

The supreme court today stayed the Delhi high court order directing the Centre to provide 3% job reservation for persons with disabilities mandated under a special legislation which includes 1% for visually-impaired candidates.

"We are staying the directions of the high court. The directions are prima facie incorrect," a Bench comprising chief justice KG Balakrishnan and justices P Sathasivam and Deepak Verma said.

However, the Bench clarified it was not staying the Disabilities Act under which three per cent jobs should be reserved for disabled persons, including one per cent for visually-impaired candidates.

It also said the interim directions passed by it earlier would prevail.

The apex court had directed the Centre to file a detailed status report regarding the extent to which the posts had been identified and filled up and also what steps had been taken to fill up the vacancies that had arisen since the Act has gone into force in 1996.

The Bench refused the plea of National Federation of the Blind that the high court order be allowed to operate.

Advocate Pratiti Rungta, himself visually impaired, argued the case for the Federation and opposed the appeal of the Centre but the Bench declined his plea saying "it is not possible to continue with the high court order".

Rungta's plea that no recruitment has been made undeer the Act did not convince the Bench to keep in operation the the high court order.