JUDGMENT:

(Nitin Jamdar, J.) :

Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. The Respondents waive service. Taken up for disposal.

2. This case of a visually impaired candidate illustrates how administrative apathy can defeat the benefits of the legislation enacted to support the persons with disabilities.

3. A Notification 01/2019 was issued by the Respondent- Recruitment Board inviting online registration of applications from suitable candidates on 23 February 2019 for various posts, including the post of Assistant in Level-1 in ‘D’ grade. The Petitioner, being 100 per cent permanently visually impaired, applied for the position of Assistant under the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities category, specifying her disability as visual impairment - blind (B). The Petitioner provided a disability certificate dated 1 January 2019 issued by the Medical Authority, Parbhani, certifying her as 100% permanently visually impaired. To fill out the application form, the Petitioner sought assistance from a person at an Internet cafe. However, during this process, the Petitioner’s date of birth was erroneously entered as 10 January 1992, instead of the correct date 10 January 1993. The examination was sc