PwD Candidates Scoring Above Cut-Off Still Treated As Reserved: SC Raises Alarm

New Delhi: The SC on Friday expressed concern that persons with disabilities (PwDs) who score higher than the cut-off marks for general category seats continue to be treated as reserved category candidates, thereby blocking opportunities for lower-scoring PwDs.

Observation Made By The Bench

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta observed that while caste-based reservation allows candidates who qualify in the open category to be treated as general candidates, the same practice is not applied to PwDs. It said denying such “upward movement” defeats the purpose of reservations under Section 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, Bar & Bench and Live Law reported.

“It is a matter of grave concern that the same treatment, that is, upward movement, is not provided to persons with disabilities protected under the Act, who, in spite of standing higher in terms of merit, are denied such movement.”

It warned that this leads to meritorious PwD candidates occupying reserved seats, thereby preventing lower-scoring PwDs from accessing opportunities meant for them. The court asked the Union Government to clarify whether it has taken steps to ensure upward movement of PwD candidates who score higher than the general category cut-off. The same principle, it said, should also apply to promotions. The Bench underlined that considerations must be guided by the aim of ensuring equality, dignity and inclusion, so that the true benefit of reservations reaches those who most need it.

The government has been directed to submit its response by October 14. The order came while hearing a long-pending plea filed by the Justice Sunanda Bhandare Foundation seeking effective enforcement of the RPwD Act. The petition had also sought proper implementation of the earlier Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, including reservation of 1% teaching posts in universities. In 2014, the Court had directed the Centre, states and Union Territories to fully implement the 1995 Act, and in 2020 it had asked all states to file compliance affidavits.

Many states filed responses, but compliance remained partial in some. As part of the current proceedings, the Court also directed that monitoring of the RPwD Act’s implementation will be carried out under “Project Ability Empowerment.” The task has been assigned to eight National Law Universities: NLU Delhi, NLSIU Bengaluru, NLU Jodhpur, WBNUJS Kolkata, RGNUL Patiala, MNLU Mumbai, NLUJA Assam, and RMLNLU Lucknow. Each NLU has been assigned specific states and Union Territories, and they must submit a report within six months. The matter will be taken up again in March 2026.