The Supreme Court has ruled that there cannot be caste-based reservations in special benefits provided to physically challenged persons.

“A disabled is a disabled. The question of making any further reservation on the basis of caste, creed or religion ordinarily may not arise. They constitute a special class,” a bench of Justices S B Sinha and H S Bedi observed.

Interpreting Article 16 (4) of the Constitution, which provides for special reservation to SCs, STs and BCs, and its ruling in the Indra Sawhney case wherein it held that reservation should not exceed 50 per cent, the apex court said “reservation for women or handicapped persons would not come within the purview of that ruling”.

Even if reservations for SCs, STs and BCs touched the 50 per cent ceiling, it would not preclude the government from providing reservation to the handicapped and women over this limit.

The Supreme Court passed the ruling while ordering the re-instatement of three assistant school teachers who were recruited under the physically challenged quota by the Madhya Pradesh government, but subsequently terminated on the ground that no reservation was given to SCs, STs or BCs in the recruitment.Mahesh Gupta and two other physically challenged persons were recruited in 1993 by the State government but their appointments were challenged by Yashwant Kumar Ahirwar and other SC and ST candidates, who complained that no reservation was provided to disabled persons from their castes.

Initially, the government took the stance before the State Administrative Tribunal and the MP High Court that reservations for physically challenged persons were in the open category and the theory of caste-based quotas would not apply to them.

Subsequently, when one of the aggrieved candidates filed a contempt petition on the matter, the State government did a volte-face and terminated the services of the physically challenged persons on the ground that their appointments were improper.

Aggrieved by the termination, the teachers moved the Supreme Court.

Travesty of justice
Upholding the appellants’ plea that special reservations extended to physically challenged persons cannot be on the basis of caste, the apex court termed the State government’s decision to sack the teachers a “travesty of justice”. The apex court directed the reinstatement of the sacked teachers with back wages.