The Delhi High Court has issued an order instructing Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) to allocate a 1% reservation for hearing-impaired individuals and a 4% reservation for disabled individuals in job vacancies. The Court expressed its disappointment that disabled individuals are compelled to file writ petitions and go through a lengthy process when dealing with an organization like KVS.

In this instance, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was initiated based on a writ petition. The petition was filed in response to concerns raised in a letter from the National Association of Deaf (NAD), whose President felt aggrieved by the job advertisements released by KVS for various positions.

The Division Bench, consisting of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula, expressed their concern by stating, "It is regrettable that disabled individuals are being forced to file writ petitions and endure unnecessary hardships when dealing with an organization like KVS. They are not seeking charity; rather, they are asserting their rights as guaranteed under the RPwD Act. The legislature has set a commendable vision of providing 'reasonable accommodation' to persons with disabilities to ensure that every possible special measure is taken to enable them to perform to the best of their abilities. Nevertheless, instead of creating such reasonable accommodations, the respondent has viewed people with disabilities as inconveniences."

The Bench ruled that KVS had breached the statutory provisions outlined in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act). Therefore, the advertisements in question should be invalidated solely on this basis.

The petition contested the job advertisements released by Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) for various positions, including Principal, Vice-Principal, Post-Graduate Teacher (PGT), Trained Graduate Teacher (TGT), Librarian, Primary Teacher (Music), Finance Officer, and other roles. The National Association of Deaf (NAD) stated in its letter that these advertisements violated the statutory provisions outlined in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPwD Act). The letter specifically pointed out that Section 17 of the RPwD Act mandates the employment of teachers, including those with disabilities, and Section 34 requires a 4% reservation for Persons with Disabilities (PwD), with 1% of those posts reserved for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Section 2(f) of the RPwD Act includes sign language within the definition of "communication," and Section 16 mandates the removal of barriers and the provision of reasonable accommodation in educational institutions. The National Association of Deaf (NAD) argued that KVS disregarded the legal provisions set forth in the RPwD Act. The uncontested facts in this case were that KVS had released job advertisements for the direct recruitment of Officers, Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff, as well as Primary Teachers in KVS. These advertisements were published in newspapers and on the official website.

In the context mentioned above, the High Court observed, "Yet again, we find ourselves faced with our fellow citizens who have been striving to obtain fair and respectful treatment from the State. On the other hand, we have a department that appears to be unaware of its constitutional obligations, despite the legislature's clear directives and the even clearer guidance from various constitutional courts, including the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India."

The Court emphasized that KVS had taken on a responsibility that was never granted to it, and the responsibility of identifying and exempting posts fell within the jurisdiction of the relevant government.

The Court rendered its decision, stating, "In the carefully considered view of this Court, if the recruitment process has already concluded, KVS must, with regard to the specified posts, ensure a 1% reservation for deaf and hard of hearing individuals against the total advertised vacancies. Additionally, the KVS should commence a special recruitment drive to fill the reserved vacancies for different categories of disabled persons, including the 1% identified individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing."

Additionally, the Court reaffirmed that the reservation should be calculated based on the total number of vacancies, and the final appointments should occur for the posts identified in the 2021 notification. The Court also directed that the process of issuing a new advertisement for the disabled category, which constitutes 4% of the total posts within the organization, should be completed within three months from the date of receiving the certified copy of this order.

As a result of the actions taken and directives issued, the High Court disposed of the petition.

Case: Court on its own Motion v. Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and Ors, W.P.(C) 17460/2022.