7 March 2024 6:25 AM GMT
The Supreme Court on Thursday (March 7) took suo motu cognizance of a rule in the State of Madhya Pradesh, which completely excludes visually impaired and no-vision candidates from seeking appointment to judicial services.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that he received a letter taking objection to the exclusion of visually impaired candidates from the MP judiciary. Converting the letter petition into a petition under Article 32 of the Constitution, the Court issued notice to the Secretary General of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the State of Madhya Pradesh and the Union of India.
"The MP Judicial Services Examination (Recruitment and Conditions of Services) Rule 1994 has been amended as a consequence which R 6A completely excludes visually impaired and no-vision candidates from seeking appointment to judicial service," the bench noted in the order.
The suo motu case is titled "In Re: Recruitment of Visually Impaired in Judicial Services."
The bench appointed Senior Advocate Gaurav Agarwal as an amicus curiae to assist the Court in the matter.
The Supreme Court, in its 2021 judgment in the case Vikash Kumar vs. Union Public Service Commission (authored by Justice Chandrachud, as he was then), overruled an earlier precedent which excluded candidates with more than 50% visual or hearing disability from judicial service.
IN RE RECRUITMENT OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED IN JUDICIAL SERVICES SMW(C) No. 2/2024