Lagatar24 Desk
Ranchi: The Jharkhand High Court has partially allowed a petition filed by Sadanand Kumar and two other candidates challenging the improper filling of seven horizontally reserved posts for disabled candidates in the 7th Combined Civil Services Examination (2021). Justice Deepak Roshan directed JPSC to make the necessary recommendation for Sadanand Kumar’s appointment within 12 weeks. Advocate Amritansh Vats appeared for the petitioners.
What Went Wrong in the Recruitment
Out of 252 total posts, 7 were reserved for disabled candidates. However, JPSC called only 4 disabled candidates for interview, selected only 3, and filled the remaining 4 reserved posts with candidates from other categories, in violation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016.
Legal Basis and Court’s Observation
Advocate Vats argued that under Sections 33 and 36 of the RPD Act 2016, if suitable candidates are not available in a particular disability sub-category, posts must be interchanged between sub-categories, and if still unfilled, carried forward to the next recruitment cycle. The court noted that Sadanand Kumar had scored 580 marks, equal to another selected disabled candidate, and that he should have been considered through the inter-category interchange mechanism. JPSC itself admitted that 4 posts in the disabled category had remained vacant.
