HC seeks state's response to plea for filling vacant disability quota posts
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court last week asked the Maharashtra government to respond to a petition seeking a special recruitment drive to fill all backlog vacancies reserved for differently abled persons in various state departments.
The public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by Mission Accessibility, an NGO founded by visually impaired advocates dedicated to the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities (PwDs). It sought the enforcement of section 34(1) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016, which mandates a 4% horizontal reservation for PwDs in all government establishments, including educational institutions.
The petition, filed through advocates Prithviraj Choudhary and Sharon Patole, highlighted systemic non-compliance with the law by the Maharashtra government and educational bodies. It cited specific instances such as NGO Laxmi Shikshan Sanstha's failure to reserve posts at its institutions despite numerous vacancies, the denial of reserved positions to eligible candidates, and exploitative temporary contracts imposed on faculty with visual impairments. These violations infringe upon the constitutional rights to equality, dignity, and equal opportunity, the PIL said.
The petitioner highlighted government data, which reveals that only 36% of the 26 million PwDs are employed in India. Notably, 47% of men with disabilities are likely to find employment, compared with just 23% of women, according to the data. In February 2024, the state commissionerate for people with disabilities (SCPD) highlighted that 99.99% of seats reserved for people with disabilities remain unfilled in Maharashtra, the petition said.
Based on this data, the petitioner wrote to the SCPD to report the non-compliance with the reservation mandate in 11 universities and 1,117 colleges across Maharashtra. The commissionerate, in response, directed the state department of higher education to investigate the matter and take corrective measures.
Although the department showed no progress in identifying and filling the backlog vacancies, it submitted data revealing the alarming state of vacancies reserved for PwDs in Maharashtra, the petition said. The statistics indicated a significant number of unfulfilled reserved posts: 76 out of 89 seats were vacant in Kolhapur, 69 out of 74 seats in Nagpur, 29 out of 30 seats in Mumbai, and 13 out of 28 seats in Solapur.
Supported by government orders, RTI responses, media reports, and affidavits, the petitioner sought directions for a special recruitment drive to fill backlog vacancies, audits, and corrective recommendations by the SCPD, strict institutional compliance with the RPWD Act, and to address the systemic discrimination faced by PwDs in educational employment in Maharashtra.
Taking cognisance of the matter, a division bench of chief justice Alok Aradhe and justice MS Karnik directed the state to submit its response through the respondent parties—the Department of Higher and Technical Education, the Department for Welfare of Persons with Disabilities, and the SCPD—within four weeks.
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