GULSHAN KUMAR Vs. INSTITUTE OF BANKING PERSONNEL SELECTION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition has been filed as a Public Interest Litigation invoking jurisdiction under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, seeking a writ of mandamus directing the Respondent Nos.1 to 4 to provide the petitioner with the facility of a scribe, compensatory time and all other facilities, to which he may be entitled, under the law, considering his disability status for the upcoming examinations, the details of which are tabulated below: <IMG>JUDGEMENT_6_LAWS(SC)2_2025_1.jpg</IMG> The petitioner has also sought a direction to the Respondent No.5 to initiate suitable action against the examining bodies that have failed to adhere to the guidelines issued by the Respondent No.5 / Government of India, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) vide Office Memorandum in F.No.29-6/2019-DD-III dtd. 10/8/2022.

(2.) Vide order dtd. 15/12/20221, this court clarified that the Respondent No.2 shall not insist on the requirement of a benchmark disability within the meaning of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 [For short, "the RPwD Act, 2016"] for the facility of a scribe, having due regard to the judgment of this Court in Vikas Kumar v. Union Public Service Commission and Others [[(2021) 5 SCC 370]].

(3.) Though at the first blush, the reliefs sought in this writ petition may appear to have become infructuous due to the efflux of time, considering the nature of the issue involved herein, we deem it fit and appropriate to delve into the same and arrive at a possible solution, so as to streamline the legal position which has been settled to an extent, and to ameliorate the plight of the persons with disabilities [For short, "the PwD"]. The pleadings raised by the parties are restricted to this specific scope.