The Hindu : Reserve seats for disabled students: HC

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 08, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Reserve seats for disabled students: HC

By A. Subramani

CHENNAI JAN. 7 . Providing a huge opening to handicapped students, the Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu Government to reserve for the disabled three per cent of the seats in all government/aided educational institutions. The reservation should cover all branches of professional education.

Directing the authorities to provide a seat in the medical college to a petitioner, Justice E. Padmanabhan observed: "In respect of the other disabled persons, if any, this court is not issuing any direction for the current year, but makes it clear that in future the Government shall implement Section 39 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995 for all institutions by issuing necessary instructions before March 31, 2003".

The direction followed a petition by J. Rajkumar, a post-polio paralysis-hit student, who was denied an MBBS seat despite his getting the fifth rank under the disabled category.

Mr. Justice Padmanabhan also stipulated that the authorities fill seats under other categories such as the SC/ST and BC quota only after completing admissions under the three per cent earmarked for the handicapped students.

Though the 1995 Act provided for three per cent reservation to disabled candidates, Mr. Rajkumar contended, the State Government violated the statutory provisions by providing only three medical seats. Had the three per cent quota been followed, 39 medical seats would have been earmarked for disabled students out of 1,255 seats in the 11 government/aided colleges.

Mr. Justice Padmanabhan, however, said: "It is for the Government to identify the candidates suitable for such courses and the percentage of disability, besides providing guidelines for admissions to various professional courses".

Pointing out that the petitioner, who came fifth in the selection list under the relevant category, the judge said, "he is entitled and eligible to be admitted to I MBBS", and directed the respondent-officials, who included the Director of Medical Education, to allot him a seat within two weeks.

Mr. Rajkumar, represented by his guardian-father D. Joseph, had prayed for a direction to the Education Secretary, the Director of Medical Education and the Selection Committee Secretary to implement the three per cent quota regime and allot an MBBS seat to him for the year 2002-03.

Though he had obtained a good rank under the disabled category, Mr. Rajkumar was offered a payment seat for BDS, as all three MBBS seats earmarked for the disabled had already been filled.

On behalf of the Government, it was submitted that though the word `shall' in Section 39 was only `directive in nature and not mandatory', the Government had reserved three seats for the disabled.

Mr. Justice Padmanabhan, pointing out that the Government of India was a signatory to the Asia-Pacific proclamation — adopted in 1992 to provide equal opportunities to the disabled and ensure their full participation — said it was pursuant to that global commitment the Union Government enacted the legislation. "But the State Government has not made any reservation as mandated by the Central enactment.

The State is bound to enforce Section 39 as it is a statutory requirement", he noted.

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