Jharkhand HC orders appointment of differently-abled candidate rejected over 3-second delay in running test

Ranchi, Nov 4 (IANS) The Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to give a job to a differently-abled candidate who was earlier denied employment because he was three seconds short in the running test.

The candidate had already cleared the written test.

The court ruled that a person with disabilities cannot be denied appointment merely because of such a marginal delay when adequate accommodation was not provided during the recruitment process.

The court has directed the state government to issue an appointment letter to the candidate within eight weeks.

The case pertains to the recruitment of 328 chowkidar (watchman) posts in Dumka district under Advertisement No. 01/2025. The petitioner, who belonged to the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) category, had successfully cleared the written examination and was then called for the physical test.

During the running event, however, he was made to compete alongside general-category candidates.

According to the petitioner, no relaxation, additional time, or special assistance was provided despite his disability. He completed the run in 10 minutes and three seconds, exceeding the prescribed limit by just three seconds. On this basis, he was declared ineligible for appointment.

Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Shubham Mishra argued that Sections 2(y) and 20 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, cast a statutory obligation on authorities to provide reasonable accommodation to persons with disabilities.

He also cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in Vikash Kumar vs Union Public Service Commission, which recognised reasonable accommodation as an integral component of the rights of persons with disabilities.

The state government contended that the recruitment rules did not provide additional time in the running test. The High Court, however, rejected this argument, observing that recruitment rules or administrative notifications cannot override the provisions of a parliamentary law.

Denial of reasonable accommodation, the court said, runs contrary to the spirit and mandate of the Disabilities Act.

The court also took note of the fact that 11 of the 13 posts reserved for the PwD category in Dumka district remained vacant.

In view of these circumstances, it held that the petitioner is entitled to appointment and directed the authorities to issue an appointment letter within eight weeks.

–IANS

skp/vd