Uphold job selection of differently-abled candidate, Gujarat HC to Government

The Gujarat High Court has directed the State government to give back a job to a person who initially got selected but denied placement later on owing to his cerebral palsy conditions. The order was made in adoption to the cause of equality and empowerment of the differently-abled. Justice Sonia Gokani ordered that the petitioner should be given the appointment order at the earliest, and not later that a period of four weeks. Justice Sonia further referred to the programme launched by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disability (DEPwD) & ndash the Accessible India Campaign “ Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan” advocating the rights, honor and dignity of the differently-abled persons. She also added, & lsquo This is one such case where a person, since has been refused such a right to equality and to lead the life with dignity and with self empowerment, has approached this Court invoking powers under Articles 14, 16 and 226 of the Constitution. The petitioner is Sudhanshu Chadva, who has a Masters degree in computer applications and was selected for the post of Superior Instructor in the Industrial Training Institutes. However he was denied the post later on, contending that not only did he have mobility problems, but he also is unable to speak and write properly. Unable to convince the authorities that the move was in contravention of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal opportunities, protection of rights and full participation) Act, Chadva moved to the High Court, and was represented by Advocate Kuldeep Vaidya, of the Legal Aid Service. Justice Gokani met the petitioner in person and was satisfied that his mental faculty was not affected in any manner despite his conditions of cerebral palsy. The government pleader Manisha Lavkumar Shah was requested by the government to approach the matter with due sensitivity and take up the matter with the highest authority. After having interviewed him, she submitted that he was capable of handling any work related to date entry assessment of papers preparation of training material etc. this extra effort by Shah was appreciated by the Court.

A disabled person should be granted equal rights and importance in every walk of life like job and education as compared to a normal individual of our nation. This has been one of the foremost concerns of the Government lately and therefore this decision by the Court is an encouraging step towards it.