YASMEEN MANSUREE Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner-Ms.Yasmeen Mansuree is an acid attack victim, having suffered the attack in 2004. To her credit, however, even after suffering such a trauma, she obtained her diploma in General Nursing and Midwifery from the Rufaida College of Nursing, Jamia Hamdard University in 2014 and has worked as a Nurse in different hospitals in Delhi for around three and a half years as on date. She is stated to be presently working in the Janakpuri Super Speciality Hospital, New Delhi.

(2.) The impetus for filing the present writ petition is an advertisement, dated 13th June, 2018, issued by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (hereinafter referred to as "AIIMS"), inviting applications, online, for filling up various Group-D posts in its establishment. Amongst the posts was that of Nursing Officer, to which the petitioner aspires. Insofar as the candidature of candidates, suffering from physical handicaps, to the said post, is concerned, the advertisement contained a footnote, proceeded by two asterisks, which reads thus:

(3.) The grievance of the petitioner is that, while the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (hereinafter referred to as "the RPD Act") includes, in the categories of disabilities enumerated in Section 34 of the said Act, acid attack victims (in Clause-C), the impugned advertisement, dated 13th June, 2018, does not do so. The only category of disability, for which the post of Nursing Officer was identified suitable, in the advertisement, was "OL (one leg only)". His submission is that this specification infracts Section 34 of the RPD Act. For ready reference, Section 34 of the RPD Act is reproduced as under: