The Supreme Court on Friday raised serious concern over the practice of denying general category seats to persons with disabilities (PwDs) who score higher than the unreserved cut-off marks. The Court said that such an approach undermines the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and directed the Union Government to clarify whether proper mechanisms are in place to ensure “upward movement” for meritorious PwD candidates into the general category.

The Court also ordered the launch of a nationwide monitoring initiative titled “Project Ability Empowerment”, to be carried out by eight National Law Universities, with a report due within six months.

The bench, comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, observed:

“It is a matter of grave concern that PwDs, despite securing marks above the general cut-off, are not provided upward movement. This forces them to occupy a reserved seat, thereby depriving another PwD candidate with lower merit of the benefit of reservation. This defeats the very purpose of Section 34 of the Act.”

The Court emphasized that the same principle must extend to promotions, ensuring that reservations reach those most in need, and that no PwD is left behind due to “compounded barriers of poverty, stigma, and lack of access.”

The directions came in a writ petition filed by the Justice Sunanda Bhandare Foundation, which has long sought effective implementation of disability rights laws. Earlier, in 2014, the Court (Justices RM Lodha, SJ Mukhopadhaya, and Dipak Misra) had ordered all governments to implement the 1995 Disabilities Act by year-end. In 2020, states were again asked to file compliance affidavits, but full compliance remains elusive.

The matter will next be heard on 14 October, when the Centre must place its response on record.

Case Title: Justice Sunanda Bhandare Foundation v. Union of India & Ors., W.P.(C) No. 116/1998