New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Rajasthan High Court to appoint a woman from the general category with low vision as a civil judge (junior division) in the state.
A bench comprising Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma exercised its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution in asking the high court to either appoint Rekha Sharma, who also belonged to economically weaker section of the general category, as a civil judge (junior division) or create a supernumerary seat.
A supernumerary seat is an additional seat over and above the sanctioned posts to provide employment in future.
Advocate Talha Abdul Rahman, appearing for Sharma, said the Rajasthan judiciary reserved nine posts for the candidates with benchmark disabilities (PwBDs) and two for persons with blindness and low vision.
He said Sharma secured 119 marks which was above the minimum qualifying marks for candidates with blindness and low vision but denied appointment as a judicial officer.
He also said only two candidates in the PwBD category were ultimately selected against a total of nine vacancies and Sharma could have been accommodated in the service.
The bench noted Sharma’s submissions that the high court gave the seat reserved for persons with benchmark disabilities to a PwBD and a scheduled tribe candidate who could have been accommodated under their own reserved category.
“Having regard to the object and intention of Article 142 of the Constitution, we direct that the petitioner be appointed as a civil judge (junior division),” Justice Nagarathna said.
The same would be done either by creating a supernumerary seat or by accommodating the candidate against unfilled vacancies for disabled candidates and were carried forward to a subsequent cycle, the bench said. PTI SJK AMK
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