SHANTA DIGAMBAR SONAWANE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. The Respondents waive service. Taken up for disposal.

(2.) This case of a visually impaired candidate illustrates how administrative apathy can defeat the benefits of the legislation enacted to support the persons with disabilities.

(3.) A Notification 01/2019 was issued by the Respondent-Recruitment Board inviting online registration of applications from suitable candidates on 23/2/2019 for various posts, including the post of Assistant in Level-1 in 'D' grade. The Petitioner, being 100 per cent permanently visually impaired, applied for the position of Assistant under the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities category, specifying her disability as visual impairment - blind (B). The Petitioner provided a disability certificate dtd. 1/1/2019 issued by the Medical Authority, Parbhani, certifying her as 100% permanently visually impaired. To fill out the application form, the Petitioner sought assistance from a person at an Internet cafe. However, during this process, the Petitioner's date of birth was erroneously entered as 10/1/1992, instead of the correct date 10/1/1993. The examination was scheduled for 2/3/2021, and the Petitioner received the hall ticket/e-call letter. Successfully passing the examination, the Petitioner subsequently received a call letter for document verification and medical verification. Document verification for the Petitioner was conducted on 17/2/2023. Following discussions with the office bearers of Respondent No. 2 -Railway Recruitment Cell regarding the incorrect date of birth, the Petitioner was informed that she could later modify the date of birth and submit the updated Aadhar Card. Subsequently, the Petitioner was called for supplementary document verification on 3/4/2023 via an email dtd. 28/3/2023. Meanwhile, the Petitioner had obtained the updated Aadhar Card with the correct date of birth. However, when attempting to submit the updated Aadhar Card during supplementary document verification, it was refused.