IN RE: RECRUITMENT OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED IN JUDICIAL SERVICES Vs. IN RE: RECRUITMENT OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED IN JUDICIAL SERVICES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted. This judgment is organized under the following heads for easy reference and understanding:

(2.) January 4, 2019 was chosen as the World Braille Day by the United Nations to commemorate the birthday of Louis Braille and to remember him as the man who invented the system 'Braille' in 1829, which is used by the visually impaired for reading and writing, till date. Louis Braille who became completely blind in both eyes by the age of five, had developed this system by himself at the age of 20 inspired by the communication system devised by Captain Charles Barbier of the French Army, and offered professorship at the National Institute for Blind Youth, Paris, where he taught history, geometry and algebra while also having an ear for music. Almost two centuries ago from now, Louis Braille had understood that what the visually impaired needed was not pity or sympathy but accommodation and an enabling atmosphere in which communication played an important role. In his own words, "access to communication in the widest sense is access to knowledge, and that is vitally important for us if we (the Blind) are not to go on being despised or patronized by condescending sighted people. We do not need pity, nor do we need to be reminded we are vulnerable. We must be treated as equals and communication is the way this can be brought about." His words are a poignant and resounding reminder of the fervent appeal of Persons with Disabilities [For short, "PwD"] to be afforded equal opportunities so as to enable them to enjoy a life of dignity and progress in all spheres on par with their able-bodied counterparts.

(3.) "Our constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law." This prophetic dissenting opinion of Justice John Marshall Harlan in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) can well be said to capture the spirit of what we are called upon to decide today. To draw a parallel, the Constitution of India is blind to the differences between able-bodied and differently abled citizens in matters of providing equal opportunity to all citizens in all spheres of life, including employment, and envisages equality and non-discrimination. This principle is to be enforced by the Constitutional Courts, by adopting a rights-based approach, providing an enabling environment and atmosphere, and ensuring that PwD are provided with equal opportunities, and accommodation that they need and deserve in order to make sure that they can lead their lives with dignity, realising their fullest potential without facing discrimination. Holding this concept of equality and non-discrimination as the basic foundation on which all issues arising from the cases on hand are to be decided, we proceed further to deal with them.