Government employees acquiring disability during service are entitled to continued salary and benefits, potentially via supernumerary posts under Section 20(4) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016; denial of such benefits violates the right to live with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Order

15/05/2026

By way of filing the present writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for the following reliefs:

“It is, therefore humbly prayed that Your Lordship may graciously be pleased to accept and allow this writ petition and by an appropriate writ, order or direction:-

I. The impugned action/omission of the respondents whereby the petitioner is not granted the benefit of Section-20(4) of the Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2016 by releasing salary and due arrears in his favour continuously from the date of acquiring the disability till date and continuously till superannuation may be rendered arbitrary and illegal and accordingly same may be ordered to be set right by issuing appropriate directions for the same in the interest of justice.

II. Any other appropriate order, which may be found just and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case, be passed in favour of the petitioner.”

The petitioner is the mother of one Mr. Pradeep Khatik, who was serving on the post of Constable in the respondent–Police Department. According to the petitioner, while discharging his official duties, her son met with a road accident in the year 2022 and, since then, has remained unconscious and in a coma. The Medical Board constituted at Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, Bhilwara, after examining the medical condition of the petitioner’s son, issued a disability certificate certifying that he is suffering from 95% physical disability.

In the writ petition, it has been pleaded that Rule 99 of the Rajasthan Service Rules, 1951 provides that in cases where disability is suffered by an employee while on duty, he is entitled to Special Disability Leave. Further, Section 20(4) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 also protects a Government employee from any adverse action on account of suffering disability during service. According to the petitioner, a Coordinate Bench of this Court, in the case of Sunil Kumar Gupta vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors. (S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.9277/2021), decided on 09.07.2025, while dealing with similar circumstances, held as under:

"A coordinate Bench of this Court has, in the case of Ummed Singh vs. State of Rajasthan -2019 (4) RLW 3386, involving identical controversy, held as under:

3. I have considered the submissions. Section 20 (4) of the Act of 2016 reads as under:-

“(4) No government establishment shall dispense with or reduce in rank, an employee who acquires a disability during his or her service: Provided that, if an employee after acquiring disability is not suitable for the post he was holding, shall be shifted to some other post with the same pay scale and service benefits: Provided further that if it is not possible to adjust the employee against any post, he may be kept on a supernumerary post until a suitable post is available or he attains the age of superannuation, whichever is earlier.”

4. From the perusal of the aforesaid it is apparent that the Parliament while enacting the said Act and the aforesaid section essentially intended that no government establishment would dispense with services of an employee who acquires disability during his service and have also provided what has to be done if the employee is found to be not suitable to perform his duties it proceeds to even come to the extent of directing to keep such a disabled employee on a supernumerary post.

5. A supernumerary post may be created for a suitable person in any of the existing grade. It is essentially created for accommodating a permanent officer thus it is a post meant for that disabled employee alone. Hence, even if the employee is not able to perform any work he will be deemed to be treated as worker against the said supernumerary post and his salary will be drawn from that post has to be equivalent to that which he was holding prior to his acquiring disability the post would thus get extinguished on the day when the said disabled person attains superannuation.

6. Accordingly, it is d