Nagpur: Holding that a temporary disability certificate cannot be used to deny reservation benefits when an appellate decision later certifies the disability as permanent, the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court recently directed the Wardha Zilla Parishad to appoint a visually impaired candidate as a seasonal spraying field worker.A division bench of Justices Anil Pansare and Rajnish Vyas quashed the authorities’ March 28, 2025, order rejecting the candidature of Rushikesh Jangme (25), a resident of Parbhani, and ordered his appointment within two weeks under the Disabled Person (PH-A-Low Vision) quota.Jangme, through counsel Anand Deshpande, applied pursuant to a recruitment advertisement issued on Aug 5, 2023, for 69 posts, including three reserved for persons with disabilities. He possessed a disability certificate issued on Sept 6, 2023, certifying 40% low-vision disability, but describing it as temporary and valid until Sept 6, 2025. Although he was called for document verification, the selection committee rejected his candidature because he did not possess a permanent disability certificate at the time of verification and final selection.During the pendency of the petition, however, the petitioner produced a fresh certificate dated Aug 7, 2025, issued by the appellate authority, declaring the same 40% disability as permanent.Rejecting the zilla parishad’s stand that eligibility had to be assessed strictly on the date of document verification, the judges relied on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, particularly Section 34 dealing with reservation in public employment.The bench noted that the reserved vacancy remained unfilled because no other eligible candidate from the benchmark disability category was available. “It becomes evident that the petitioner is entitled to the benefits of the Act of 2016,” the court observed while interpreting the legislation in favour of substantive equality.The judges further held that the appellate authority’s decision to correct the nature of disability from temporary to permanent effectively rectified the earlier certification. “The correction of the mistake at the appellate stage would relate back to Sept 6, 2023, when the first certificate was issued,” the judgement said.The court also rejected the zilla parishad’s argument that only permanent disability certificates could be considered for reservation, observing that even govt resolution dated Sept 13, 2022, recognised temporary disability certificates for applicable benefits.Emphasising the social welfare objective of the 2016 Act, the bench said the law requires reserved vacancies to be protected rather than denied. Referring to Section 34(2) of the Act, it held that where no suitable disabled candidate is available, the vacancy should remain reserved and be carried forward instead of defeating the legislative intent.Allowing the petition, the court quashed Jangme’s rejection order and directed the collector and chief executive officer of Wardha Zilla Parishad to complete his appointment within two weeks.
