Supreme Court allows all disabled candidates to take scribe in exams

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed all disabled candidates to take scribes to write their examinations even if they didn’t meet the benchmark disability criteria of 40 percent – a norm followed hitherto.

A Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan ruled that the artificial distinction and bifurcation drawn between candidates with disabilities and those with benchmark disabilities (40% disabled or more) needed to be diminished.

The guidelines issued by the Centre following directions of the top court had to be enforced by extending the benefits for persons with benchmark disabilities candidates to all persons with disabilities candidates in writing their examinations, without any hindrance, the top court said.

It asked the examination bodies to implement accessibility measures to ensure that the exam centres were physically accessible and equipped to accommodate disabled candidates and ensure strict compliance of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 to prevent discrimination and provide equal opportunities to persons with disabilities.

The top court ordered setting up of a grievance redressal portal to register complaints, which would permit the candidates to approach it first before approaching the court of law.

The landmark verdict came on a petition filed by one Gulshan Kumar in 2022 seeking directions to the Centre and other authorities to provide him with the facility of a scribe, compensatory time and all other facilities, to which he may be entitled, under the law, considering his disability status for various examinations.

The top court directed all the authorities/recruitment agencies/examining bodies to uniformly follow the guidelines issued by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and ensure strict adherence through periodic surveys/verification.

It also ordered the Government to carry out periodic sensitization drives at educational institutions to raise awareness among the examination conducting bodies so as to ensure that the OMs are effectively implemented.

It said the validity of the scribe certificate (currently being valid only for 6 months) should be extended to prevent the long wait time after applying, especially in rural areas.