O.CHINNAPPA REDDY,J.

(1) SPECIAL leave granted.

(2) THE appellant is a physically handicapped person. He has an orthopaedic problem. He suffers from a permanent impediment of the left leg, the result of an old cornpoind fracture. His impediment did not prevent him from good academic performance. He went further. He appeared at the combined State Services Examination held in February 1982 by the Uttar Pradesh public service commission. According to the advertisement issued by Commission, one post in the Provincial Civil Service (Executive Branch) was reserved for handicapped persons. However, the appellant was offered the post of Manager, Marketing and Economic Survey instead of a post in the Provincial Civil Service (Executive Branch). He was not offered a post in the Provincial Civil Service (Executive Branch) on the ground that the reservation of 2 per cent in the Uttar Pradesh Civil Services for physically handicapped persons had been revoked by the State government by their letter dated 1/03/1979 in regard to the Provincial Civil Sendee (Executive Branch). Thereupon the appellant filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution in the Allahabad High court. The writ petition was dismissed by the High court on the ground that there was no reservation of posts for physically handicapped persons in the Provincial Civil Service (Executive Branch). The appellant has come before us under Article 136 of the Constitution.

(3) AS far back as 1972, the Uttar Pradesh government by G.O. No. 43/90/66-Apptt.4 dated 18/07/1972 announced "for the physically handicapped persons, the reservation in all the services under the government shall be 2 per cent". All the government departments wsre directed to follow the policy for reservation in services accordingly. Later by G.O. No. 7/4/1971-Personnel-2 dated 20/05/1978 the government of Uttar Pradesh while affirming the "reservation of 2 per cent posts for the appointment of disabled persons in all the services under the government," defined who a physically handicapped person was and added the following instruction:

THAT in this context, I have to make it clear that the physical disability should not be of the nature which may cause interference in discharge of duties and obligations attached to the concerned service. Accordingly if the service is as such that it requires continuous use of eye, then in such case reservation cannot be given to the blind persons. In the same manner if some services specifically involves the hearing faculty then no reservation can be given to the deaf persons in such services and in a service where the use of a particular organ of the body is to be used then the person disabled of that particular organ cannot be given reservation in that service. On the basis of the principle every department will issue necessary orders regarding reservation for the post under their subordination.

(4) IT appears that there was some discussion within the department pursuant to a letter from the public service commission and there was a proposal not to reserve any post for disabled persons in the Provincial Civil Sendee. This proposal, however, did not result in the issuance of any GO by the government. But the Public Service Commission was informed by the government by their letter dated 1/03/1979 that none of the categories of disabled persons was suitable for appointment to the U.P. Civil Service (Executive Branch) and no reservation for disabled persons might be made in the Provincial Civil (Executive Branch) Service. A perusal of the letter dated 1/03/1979 indicates that it was confined to "recruitment on the basis of Combined State Services Examination, 1978". It was not intended to be an amendment of G.O. No. 43/90/66 dated 18/07/1972 or G.O. No. 7/4/1971 dated 20/05/1978. It was not intended to depart from general rule of reservation of 2 per cent posts in favour of disabled persons in the case of the Provincial Civ