HC seeks affidavit on quota for disabled in law officers’ appointments

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked the State of Haryana to file an affidavit regarding the provision of reservation for persons with disabilities in the appointment of law officers in accordance with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

“Instructions in this regard may be taken and this court may be informed as to why reservation ought not been directed to be provided to the extent of 4 per cent as per the scheme of the Act to the disabled category earmarked for Advocate-General office in coming selections for the post of law officers in the State of Haryana too and responsible official’s affidavit be filed in this regard before the next date of hearing," the Bench of Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Meenakshi I Mehta asserted.

The Bench was hearing a bunch of petitions filed against the Union of India and other respondents by advocate Mohit Garg and other petitioners through counsel Karan Nehra. At the onset, the counsel appearing for Haryana sought time to get instructions from the government “as to whether the State is ready to provide reservation to the disabled category in terms of the Act of 2016, which has been duly adopted and the rules have been framed”.

The Bench, during the course of hearing, noted that the State of Punjab had implemented reservations for Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes in the law officers’ appointment. But Haryana's recent advertisements for similar posts did not provide any such reservations. The court also took note of the petitioners’ submission that Haryana Advocate-General’s office had been identified as one where certain categories of persons with disabilities were to be provided reservations.

The matter will come up for further hearing on February 20.