Candidates with benchmark disabilities are entitled to consideration for appointment in suitable posts as per the updated notifications under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.

ORDER :

1. Heard.

2. Application for impleadment is allowed.

3. Leave granted.

4. The instant appeal by special leave arises from the judgment and order dated 29th May, 2025 passed by the High Court of Delhi¹ [Hereinafter, referred to as the “High Court”] in Writ Petition (C) No. 5904 of 2023.

5. In the year 2018, respondent No. 2-Staff Selection Commission² [For short ‘SSC’] initiated a process to fill various Group ‘B’ and Group ‘C’ posts in different Ministries/Departments/Organisations under the Government of India. Pursuant to the tentative list of vacancies determined on 27th December, 2019, the Common Graduate Level Examination-2018³ [For short ‘CGLE-2018’] vacancies were notified, wherein two vacancies were earmarked for the post of ‘Auditor’ in the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India⁴ [For short ‘CAG’] under the ‘Other PwD’ category.

6. Shri Amit Yadav, respondent No. 3 herein, was an aspirant for the post of ‘Auditor’ (Post Code D33) in the Staff Selection Commission’s Combined Graduate Level Examination, 2018.⁵ [For short ‘SSC CGLE’] He applied under the category of Persons with Disabilities - Other⁶ [For short ‘Other PwD’] as well as under the Other Backward Class category in the said examination.

7. He was possessed of a valid disability certificate dated 2nd May, 2018 issued by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities⁷ [For short ‘DEPwd’] Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, as per which he was suffering from ‘mental illness’, with the degree of disability assessed at 55%.

8. R3 - Shri Amit Yadav successfully cleared the Tier-I and Tier-II stages of the SSC CGLE-2018. Thereafter, the Tier-III stage was conducted and the result thereof was declared on 30th September, 2020, qualifying candidates for the Skill Test/Document Verification stage, i.e., Tier-IV (the final round of the said examination). He was thereafter required to indicate his preference for eligible posts, and accordingly, he opted for the post of ‘Auditor’ (Post Code D33). The final list of vacancies was uploaded on the website on 15th March, 2021, pursuant to which R3- Shri Amit Yadav was recommended for appointment to the post of ‘Auditor’ (D33).

9. On 28th September, 2021, the CAG declared a State/Office Allocation List. It was indicated in the said list that the dossiers of certain candidates, including that of R3 - Shri Amit Yadav, were being returned to the SSC on the ground that the post of ‘Auditor’ had been identified as not suitable for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities⁸ [For short ‘PwBD’] suffering from ‘mental illness’, the category against which R3 - Shri Amit Yadav had applied and was recommended. The rejection of the candidature of R3 - Shri Amit Yadav was thereafter formally communicated to him by a letter dated 30th September, 2021.

10. Being aggrieved, R3 - Shri Amit Yadav submitted a detailed representation dated 29th September, 2021 to the SSC, asserting that the rejection of his candidature was arbitrary. He also lodged two grievances before the Department of Personnel and Training⁹ [For short ‘DoPT’] on 8th October, 2021, followed by an e-mail dated 23rd October, 2021 reiterating his eligibility and requesting reconsideration of his case for appointment in the subject recruitment process. However, no affirmative response was forthcoming, upon which, R3 - Shri Amit Yadav preferred Original Application No. 339 of 2022 before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Delhi Bench¹⁰ [Hereinafter, referred to as the “CAT’] seeking appointment by invoking the provisions of the Rights of Persons wi