The court found that individuals with mental disabilities must be treated with accommodations ensuring equal opportunities in education and employment, as protected under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.

JUDGMENT :

PURNENDU SINGH, J.

Heard Mr. Ashutosh Kumar Verma, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner and Mr. Kundan Kumar Singh, learned counsel for the respondent/s.

2. The petitioner in paragraph no. 1 of the present writ petition has sought inter alia following relief(s), which is reproduced hereinafter:

"(I) To issue an appropriate writ /order /direction in nature of mandamus, directing the Respondents to allow the petitioner appear in the supplementary examination of Diploma in Primary Education (DPE) or petitioner should be passed on the basis of average marking.

(II) To any other relief for which the petitioner appear to found entitled by your lordships deem fit and proper."

3. The petitioner was appointed as a Block Teacher in the year 2005 at Primary School Parham, Block- Jamalpur, District- Munger vide Memo No. 348 dated 24.06.2005 and she joined the school on 06.07.2005. The said Primary School was later upgraded as Utkramit Middle School, Parham. After completion of two years of service, the Headmaster of the said school issued a letter dated 31.05.2008 and directed the petitioner to attend the programme of Diploma in Primary Education (DPC) conducted by Indira Gandhi National Open University (hereinafter referred to as the "IGNOU"). The petitioner took admission in the said programme in July, 2008 and her Enrollment No. was 086362185. The petitioner had participated in six days workshop under the said programme conducted by IGNOU and a certificate was awarded in favour of the petitioner. The petitioner completed Diploma in Primary Education Progamme but she could not appear in theory ES- 221, ES-222 and practical-1 exam as she was undergoing treatment at Mental Hospital from 08.04.2010 till 31.12.2018 and, as such, the result of two paper could not be completed. The authority also not allowed the petitioner to join the school after his recovery from mental illness. Thereafter, the petitioner had preferred appeal on 05.03.2019 before the District Appellate Authority being Appeal No. 47 of 2019, which was allowed vide order dated 26.09.2019 and the petitioner was allowed to join the duty in the concerned school.

4. Considering the relief as prayed for in paragraph no.1 of the present writ petition, I find that the petitioner had undergone mental treatment and being mentally handicapped, he is required to be treated as per the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disability Act (RPwD Act). In respect of a mentally disabled persons in case of Rabindra Nath Shukla vs. Uttar Bihar Gramin Bank & Ors. (CWJC No. 18853 of 2012), where the petitioner had faced disciplinary action, I had occasion to discuss the similar fact and I find that the observations made in paragraphs no. 13, 14, 16, 18 and 19, of the aforesaid case, find relevance with the fact of the present case, which inter alia are reproduced hereinafter:

"13. The Apex Court in case of Ravinder Kumar Dhariwal and another Versus Union of India and Others, reported in (2023) 2 Supreme Court Cases 209, faced with the similar situation, where a person suffering from mental disability was subjected to the disciplinary proceeding, has held that the proceedings are discriminatory and violative of principle of the Rights of Persons with Disability Act (hereinafter referred to as the “RPwD Act”). The Apex Court has held as follows in paragraph nos.148.2 and 149 of the Ravinder Kumar Dhariwal (Supra).

148.2. The mental disability of a person need not be the sole cause of the misconduct that led to the initiation of the disciplinary proceeding. Any residual control that persons with mental disabilities have over their conduct merely diminishes the extent to which the disability contributed to the conduct. The mental