The obligation of the State Government to identify and reserve posts for persons with disabilities, review the identified posts at regular intervals, and ensure compliance with the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Persons with disabilities Act, 1998.

1. The State of Jammu and Kashmir like the rest of the country enacted the Jammu and Kashmir Persons with disabilities (Equal Opportunities Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1998 (for brevity `the Act'), which came into force on 19.05.1998. In the long title of the Act it has been stated that the aforesaid peace of legislature has been enacted to provide equal opportunities, care, protection maintenance welfare, training and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities.

2. On account of a service matter dispute, proceedings were initiated in this Court by one Jyotsana Mengi which culminated in order dated 30.03.2009 passed in LPASW no. 205/2006. The Letters Patent Bench of this Court, while dealing with the issues raised in that appeal also took up the issue of general importance by referring to the provisions of Sections 21 and 22 of the Act dealing with identification of posts which can be reserved for persons with disabilities.

3. It is pertinent to mention that Section 22 of the Act deals with three categories of disabled persons, namely, blindness or low vision, hearing impairment and locomotor disability/cerebral palsy. A look at Sections 21 and 22 of the Act would make it amply clear that unless the State Government exempts any establishment from the operation of that Act, it was obligatory upon the Government to appoint in every establishment disabled persons and identify the posts where such persons could be accommodated. There is further obligation of periodical review for identifying the posts and such review, according to the mandate of law, must be taken at intervals not exceeding three years. The Bench noticed that a number of establishments of the State had identified the posts in which disabled persons cannot be appointed but failed to identify even one category of post where such like persons could be appointed. The Government also did not by notification exempted any such establishment from the obligation cast on the Government by Section 22 of the Act which provide reservation for disabled persons to the extent of 3% at least in the total number of posts/vacancies. Keeping in view the aforesaid provisions, this Court issued comprehensive directions in the concluding para of the judgment, which are set out below:-

"i) to identify posts in all establishments, which have not been exempted, which can be reserved for persons with disabilities. Those posts must not be less than 3% of the posts available in each of the establishments of the State which have not been exempted;

ii) while identifying those posts, it must be ascertained whether the same can be supplied by a person suffering from blindness/low vision, or whether the same can be supplied by a person suffering from hearing impairment or whether the same can be supplied by a person suffering from locomotor disability/cerebral palsy;

iii) the posts to be so identified must not, in any case, be less than 1% of the total posts available in such establishments which can be supplied by persons suffering from blindness/low vision, and, similarly, at least 1% of such posts which can be supplied by persons suffering from hearing impairment and at least 1% of such posts which can be supplied by persons suffering from locomotor disability/cerebral palsy;

iv) not exceeding 3 years, a review shall be made in each such establishment of the State to re-identify such posts and to update the same taking into consideration the development in technology;

v) the first of the 3% of the total vacancies should be supplied by a person suffering from blindness/low vision; the second by the person suffering from hearing impairment and the third by the person suffering from locomotor disability/ cerebral palsy;

vi) if a person befitting the first category is not available, then the person befitting the second category may supply the vacancy, but the vacancy available for the second category would automatically be reserved for the first category and likewise for the second ca

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