NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court flagged the hostile discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment in an important verdict today.
It also questioned the Centre if measures were taken to provide ‘upward movement’ of meritorious candidates when they secure more than the cut-off in the unreserved category.
“The principle of upward movement, available to candidates under social reservation categories, ensures that reserved seats go to those who ‘truly’ need them. The denial of this principle to persons with disabilities deprives lower-scoring candidates with disabilities of their rightful opportunities,” said the top court.
This development comes after the SC hearing a batch of Public Interest Litigations (PILs).
In a first, a writ petition was filed in 1998 by the Justice Sunanda Bhandare Foundation, seeking implementation of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.