NATIONAL FEDERATION OF BLIND versus UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION AND OTHERS

Citation: [1993] 2 S.C.R. 556 · Decided: 23-03-1993 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: KULDIP SINGH · Disposal: Case Partly allowed

Judgment (excerpt)

A 
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF BLIND 
v. 
UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION AND OTHERS 
MARCH 23, 1993 
.a 
-k-
[KULDIP SINGH AND N.M. KASLIWAL, JJ.) 
•· 
Visually Handicapped-Right to compete for civil services-Writ of 
r::
mandamus u/Alt 32 of the Constitution-:Tustijication for writing civil service 
examination in Brailli;--Script or with the help of a scribe-Whether visual 
c handicap hinders equal efficiency. 
,. 
Entitlement to claim promotion to higher posts-And right to claim a 
A' ) 
palticu/ar post in. the hierarchy of promotional posts in respect of which the 
), 
Government has found that the visually handicapped persons shall not be 
l 
suitable. 
D 
The visually handicapped constitute a significant section or our 
society. As it is necessary to encourage their participation in every walk or 
life. The Central Ministry of Welfare has been undertaking various 
measures to utilise their potentialities. The Governments have launched 
E schemes to educate, train and provide them with useful employment. The 
-y 
Central Government has provided 3% reservation in Group C and D posts 
for physically handicapped including blind and partially blind, while 
demand is growing for reservations in Group A and B posts. 
The Standing Committee of the Ministry of Welfare undertook iden-
F 
tilication of jobs in these categories and submitted its report on October 
31, 1986. Para 8 thereof related to the blind. It took note of reading and 
writing deficiency and suggested the provision of allowance. And found 
that the specified 416 posts in Group A and B are suitable for blind and 
partially blind. So, the Ministry of Personnel issued office memorandum 
G dated November 25, 1986 a accepting the report and took policy decision 
regarding identification of jobs for the physically handicapped persons in 
Group A and B posts filled to be by direct recruitment in Central Govern-
r-
ment Services and Public Sector Undertakings. 
This court examined the memorandum and found that the Govern· 
H ment had taken cognizance of the identified jobs; that the Government had 
556 
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NATIONAL FEDERATION OF BLIND v. U.P.S.C. 
557 
_,)-
decided about the recruitment of handicapped lessons to these posts; that A 
the departments would supplement the list further; that the Mini-
stries/Departments would inform the UPSC about preferential treatment 
to handicapped candidates; that the UPSC 'bad agreed in principle to give 
preference; and that the Department of Personnel and Training would be 
-f 
issuing general instructions for the purpose. 
B 
However, the decisions were not implemented for seven years. So the 
petitioner approached this Court seeking a writ in the nature of man-
damns directing the Union of India and the UPSC to permit the blind 
candidates to compete for the I.A.S. and Allied Services and to provide 
them facility of writing the civil services examination either in Braille c 
Script or with the help of a scribe. 
~ 
On hearing the counsel for the petitioner, himself visually hand-
icapped, this Court, 
HELD: The performance ofthecounsel for the petitioner before us has D 
amply proved the point that the visually handicapped penous can perform 
the jobs entrusted to them with equal efficiency. However the question of 
giving preference to the handicapped in the matter of recruitment to the 
identified posts is a matter for the Government of India to decide. The 
y 
Government of India is commended to decide the question of providing E 
preference/reservation to the handicapped in Group A and B Posts. 
(564 C-D·E] 
I 
This Court further held that there are number of post which are 
required to be filled through the civil services examinations and other 
competitive examinations conducted by the Commission, so the observa-
F 
lions of the UPSC that the posts identified as suitable to be held by the 
\ 
physically handicapped persons, particularly those identified for the blind 
were not required to be filled on the basis of competitive examination 
conducted by the Commission, appeared to be incorrect. (565 DJ 
Group A and 8 posts in the category of Administrative Officers are G 
necessarily to be filled as a result of civil services examination held by the 
~ UPSC. If some of the identified posts in the Indian Administrative Service 
·and other Allied Services can be filled from amongst the visually hand· 
icapped persons, there was no reason why they should not be permitted to 
sit and write the civil services examination. (

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