GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court on Monday, December 9, issued a contempt notice to the Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). This notice was handed out after the latter failed to comply with its July 8 judgement directing the appointment of Pankaj Kumar Srivastava, a visually impaired candidate, and ten other Persons with Disabilities (PwD) who cleared the Civil Services Examination in 2008.
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A Bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih criticised the Central government for its delay, warning the Secretary to ensure compliance by December 19 or appear via video conferencing on December 20 to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated.
Expressing displeasure, Justice Oka remarked, “Every day, we see this treatment meted out by the Union to Persons with Disabilities. You don’t want to appoint the applicants and want to examine them to find something to reject their candidature.”
The candidate’s counsel highlighted that despite five months passing since the order, no appointment had been made, amounting to contempt. The DoPT responded that candidates would be examined under 2008 rules and appointments notified in due course.
However, Srivastava has been litigating since 2009, when he was denied a post despite clearing the examination. After a favourable 2012 ruling from the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), upheld by the Delhi High Court, the government appealed to the Supreme Court.
“This candidate has been made to run from pillar to post since 2009 despite a large backlog of PwD vacancies,” the court stated.
