The Act mandates that only individuals with permanent disabilities meet the benchmark for reservation in employment, excluding those with temporary disabilities from eligibility.

JUDGMENT:

R.K. PATTANAIK, J.

1. All the writ petitions have been clubbed together for disposal by the following common judgment.

2. Instant writ petition is filed by the petitioners assailing the impugned notification dated 28^th June, 2021 at Annexure-14 and further to direct opposite party No.1 to issue letters of appointment in their favour to the posts applied for pursuant to the select list as at Annexure-5 with effect from the date the other candidates have been issued the appointment orders besides granting them the consequential service and financial benefits within a stipulated period.

3. In fact, the challenge is to the notification of the Government of Odisha in Department of Water Resources at Annexure-14, whereby, the petitioners have been found not suitable to be appointed to the posts under Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) category after verification by the Special Medical Board in terms of the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’) and guidelines issued by the Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SS&EPD) Department dated 24^th October, 2019 as wholly illegal, arbitrary and not in consonance with law and guidelines of the Department dated 16^th April, 2019 by then in force when Advertisement No.1 of 2019/20 was published by the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) dated 27^th May, 2019 and equally violative of the principles of natural justice.

4. The OPSC with the advertisement as per Annexure-1 invited online applications from the prospective candidates to fill up the posts of Assistant Executive Engineer (Civil) in (a) Water Resources Department; (b) Works Department; and (c) Housing and Urban Development Department under Water Resources Department and Assistant Executive Engineer (Mechanical) under Water Resources Department in Group-A of the Odisha Engineering Service carrying the scale of pay in Level-12 of Pay Matrix under Odisha Revised Scales of Pay Rules, 2017 with usual DA and other allowances as may be admissible. In the said advertisement, the vacancy position for PwDs category was 37 with the following break-ups, such as, (i) blindness/low vision-16; (ii) hearing impairment-05;(iii) locomotor disability/cerebral palsy-04; and (iv) autism/intellectual disabilities/multiple disabilities-12.

5. According to the petitioners, in such advertisement i.e. Annexure-1, nature and degree of disability has not been prescribed for being eligible. The requirement of a Disability Certificate is only specified therein indicating the percentage of specified disability. It is pleaded that as per the advertisement, persons with more than 40% disability are bestowed with a concession for being exempted from payment of fee on the application with age relaxation. Pursuant to the advertisement of the OPSC, the petitioners with all documents applied for the posts enclosing Disability Certificates (Annexure-2) issued by the District Medical Board. The common pleading is that the OPSC having found the petitioners eligible, issued admit cards (Annexure-3) to them as PwDs candidates to appear the written examination to be held on 15^th December, 2019. The petitioners, as further made to reveal from the pleading on record, having cleared the written examination were called for viva voce test by letters of intimation (Annexure-4) fixing the dates to appear for the said purpose. Thereafter, according to the petitioners, all of them stood provi