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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, NOV 3: Taking a decision on the case of a blind girl who was refused permission to appear in Probationary Officers test by a bank, the Supreme Court today asked the Centre to find out the employment opportunity for visually handicapped in the banking division of the Finance Ministry.
Responding to a query from a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice A S Anand, Solicitor General Harish Salve agreed with the bench that such cases required a compassionate view, rather than going strictly by the rule books.
Salve said he would impress upon the Government to consider favourably if the girl was willing to take a job lower to the post of Probationary Officer, where it would be technically difficult to accomodate a visually challenged person.
The bench, comprising Justice Anand, Justice R C Lahoti and Justice Brijesh Kumar, while hearing a case filed by the girl Amita through counsel Neeru Vaid, kept the suggestion of the Solicitor General in mind and asked the Centre to indicate the posts available for visually handicapped persons in the banking division of the Finance Ministry.
Vaid argued that the Government was referring to the list of posts drawn up in 1986 to say that no posts were available for such persons in the probationary officer category, though it was mandatory for the Centre to review the list every three years.
Salve submitted before the Court that he would also impress upon the concerned officials for an early review of the existing list of posts in the Ministry.
Amita had approached the Supreme Court when she was denied an opportunity by the Banking Services Recruitment Board (BSRB) to appear in a written test for Probationary Officers post in General Category on the grounds that she was visually handicapped.
Her counsel submitted that BSRB’s refusal to allow Amita to appear in the test amounted to the violation of the girl’s right to Right to Equality, Right to Equal Opportunity and Right to Dignity under Article 4, 16 and 21 of the Constitution.
The Court had on July 13, 2000, while asking the BSRB and Centre to file their responses, directed them not to fill one post of probationary officer till the petition filed by Amita was decided.
BSRB had said it could not give an opportunity to the girl to appear for the examination as the Banks, which needed the probationary officer, had not intimated it about recruiting blind persons, as they were not suited for the job.
