Blind and cerebral palsy candidates writing West Bengal Judicial Service Examination not eligible for reservation

The West Bengal Public Service Commission has omitted candidates with blindness and cerebral palsy from the scope of reservation for persons with disabilities for the State's Judicial Service Examination, 2022..The notification for this year's exam refers to a 2007 notification which exempted candidates with blindness and cerebral palsy from judicial service.Justifying the omission of such candidates from the ambit of reservation, the 2007 notification had stated:"AND WHEREAS judicial mind is required to be applied with by the judicial officers before any cases are disposed off by them; AND WHEREAS any commission of omission on the part of the judicial officers on account of disability with blindness and cerebral palsy may hinder dispensation of justice to the litigant parties...".For these reasons, such candidates were exempted from the purview of reservation as contemplated under Section 33 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, the notification said..The 2007 notification is based on the 1995 Act, which has long since been replaced by the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Under Section 34 of the 2016 Act, reservation for persons with benchmark disabilities is mandated by law. The Act specifies that blindness or low vision and locomotor disability including cerebral palsy qualify as benchmark disabilities..In Vikash Kumar v. Union of India, the Supreme Court had held that denial of reasonable accommodation to persons with disabilities would amount to discrimination. In that case, the Civil Services Examination Rules, 2018 issued by the Central government, which confined the facility of a scribe only to those who have benchmark disabilities, were under challenge. The Court had held that even a person with writer's cramp, who did not suffer from a benchmark disability, was entitled to a scribe.In Union Of India & Anr vs National Federation Of The Blind, the apex court had held, "Employment is a key factor in the empowerment and inclusion of people with disabilities. It is an alarming reality that the disabled people are out of job not because their disability comes in the way of their functioning rather it is social and practical barriers that prevent them from joining the workforce...".The preliminary exam, which is scheduled for March 2023, exempts blind candidates sitting for the West Bengal judiciary examination from receiving the benefits of reservation of vacancies. They will also not be allowed to opt for the help of a scribe or allowed compensatory time for the exam..[Read notification here]