T. JYOTHI Vs. GOVT. OF A.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition has been instituted by four individuals challenging the validity of the proceedings dated 25.04.2007 passed by the 3rd respondent - District Educational Officer, Vizianagaram terminating their services as Secondary Grade Teachers with immediate effect.

(2.) ONE Smt.K.Padmavathi, a physically challenged person with hearing impairment filed WP No. 6760 of 2006 in this court. A Division Bench considered the said case and by its judgment dated 22.8.2006 held that the said Smt.K.Padmavathi is illegally and unjustly deprived of the opportunity of appointment notwithstanding the declaration of the law made by the Parliament and the fact that people who are utterly unqualified for filling up of the posts have been appointed as such against the quota of the posts reserved for the challenged category. The court has also awarded public law damage in a sum of Rs.One lakh to the individual granting liberty to recover the said amount from those persons who are responsible for illegal appointments thereby depriving Smt. K. Padmavathi the opportunity of employment. In view of this judgment, the entire issue relating to the selection and appointment of certain candidates in Vizianagaram District under the physically challenged category has come to be re-considered with particular reference to the percentage of disability suffered by the selected candidates. It is found that the petitioners 1 and 2 herein were selected under the District Selection Committee selections in the year 2001 while the 3rd petitioner was similarly selected in the year 2002 and the 4th petitioner in the year 2003. Since these four petitioners have been selected under the hearing impaired category of challenged persons, they were referred for medical opinion and for the assessment of their disability to the ENT Hospital at Koti, Hyderabad, through the proceedings dated 15.5.2006. The Hospital at Koti assessed the disability of the 1st petitioner and that of the

(3.) SECTION 32 of this Act required appropriate Government to identify posts in the establishments which can be reserved for persons with disability and the State is also required to review the list of posts so identified at periodical intervals not exceeding three years. Section 33 of this Act required every appropriate Government to appoint in every establishment such percentage of vacancies not less than three per cent for persons or class of persons with disability of which one per cent each shall be reserved for persons suffering from (i) blindness or low vision; (ii) hearing impairment (iii) locomotor disability or cerebral palsy. This being a parliamentary enactment giving effect to the commitment of the country made at an international conference and also a social welfare Measure for securing equal justice and right of full participation for persons with disabilities, every care has got to be taken by all concerned for ensuring that the right persons get the benefit of employment.