Quota for blind people sought in public services

Mumbai: A petition seeking reservation in public services such as the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Revenue Service (IRS) for physically challenged persons was filed in the Bombay high court.

A division bench of Ju-stice R.M. Sawant and Justice Nitin Sambre was hearing petition filed by Jayant Mankale, a blind candidate, who failed to secure a job despite ranking 923 in the Civil Services Examinations held in 2017.

He claimed posts reser-ved for blind candidates were clubbed with those having low vision, due to which he was unable to secure a posting.

The petition requests an exclusive reservation for blind people in public services.  The petition stated that of 28 posts reserved from 920 public service seats, only eight are for people with visual impairment — both the blind and people with low vision are in the same category. Mr Mankale said when he applied for a post in the relevant category, his name did not appear in the list.

Mr Mankale came to know that out of eight posts reserved for visually impaired candidates, five were reserved for blind and low vision candidates while three were suitable only for those with low vision. It was later revealed that all five posts had been allotted to candidates with low vision.

The petition stated that such a trend was harmful for blind candidates and there should be a bifurcation of posts to accommodate them. It also stated the posts suitable for him were filled up; an additional post should be created for him in any of the three public services this year itself.

After hearing the petition, the bench issued notices to the Union Public Service Comm-ission and the Union of India seeking a reply.