The present petition challenges the recruitment process of Karnataka Public Services Commission (Respondent No. 1) for the post of Inspector of Motor Vehicles and the provisional list of candidates released on 30.06.2017 selected for the said post, released by Respondent No. 1. The Petitioners are persons with hearing impairments who wished to apply for the said post.
Respondent No. 1 in its Notification No. R(2) 1312/2015-16/PSC dated 04.02.2016 (Impugned Notification) invited applications for 11 posts of Regional Transport Officer and 150 posts of Inspector of Motor Vehicles. Of the 150 posts advertised for appointment of Inspector of Motor Vehicles, 8 posts have been reserved for persons with hearing impairments. However, despite the said reservation, the Petitioners, being persons with hearing impairments, have not been able to apply for the post of Inspector of Motor Vehicles, as the Transport Department (Respondent No. 2) through the Road Transport Authority has refused to grant a driving license for motor cycles, heavy goods vehicles and heavy passenger motor vehicles to persons with hearing impairment.
Further, the provisional list released by Respondent No. 1 has not selected any person with a hearing impairment, contrary to the law and the notifications issued by the Government of Karnataka in this regard. Aggrieved by the actions of Respondent Nos. 1 and 2, the Petitioners have filed this petition.
The principle ground taken in the Petition is that despite the legislative mandate under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPD Act) to provide for reservations for persons with disabilities in public employment, the Petitioners are being denied the opportunity to access the reservations provided for, particularly in view of the fact that in reserving seats for persons with hearing impairments, the State of Karnataka has recognised that the functions of the post are capable of being fulfilled by persons with hearing impairments. Further, by refusing to issue driving licenses for motor cycle, heavy goods vehicles and heavy passenger motor vehicles to persons with hearing impairment, which is an essential eligibility condition, Respondent Nos. 1 and 2 have made it impossible for persons with disabilities to access the reservations.
The Petition has been admitted and is currently pending hearing before the Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka.
– This post was authored by Deekshitha Ganesan, Research Associate