Supreme Court holds visually impaired candidates eligible for appointment to district judiciary

The Supreme Court on Monday held visually impaired candidates eligible for appointment to judicial services in India. .The bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan delivered the judgment on a batch of petitions, including a suo motu case related the denial of reservations to such candidates in judicial services of certain States."We have treated it as the most important case. We have touched upon constitutional framework also and institutional disability jurisprudence...," Justice Mahadevan said while pronouncing the decision. The Court said the persons with disabilities must not face any discrimination in judicial services and that the State must provide affirmative action to provide an inclusive framework."No candidate can be denied such opportunity solely on account of disability," it added..A visually- impaired candidate's mother had last year written to the top court against a rule in the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Services (Recruitment and Service Conditions) Rules that prevented visually impaired candidates from seeking appointment in the state judicial services.The letter was converted into a suo motu plea by the top court..The top court today struck down Rule 6A of Madhya Pradesh Judicial Services Rules as it did not allow visually-impaired candidates and those with low visibility to join the judiciary. The rule requiring three years of practice for visually impaired candidates was also struck down.While ordering that such candidates in Madhya Pradesh shall be entitled to take part in the selection process, the Court granted similar relief to similarly-placed candidates from Rajasthan. .[Read Judgment]