Section 39 Applicable in Admissions

Dr. Khalid Bin Yusuf Khan vs. Aligarh Muslim University and another

Filed under: Sections 32, 33 and 39 of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995
Appellants: Dr. Khalid Bin Yusuf Khan
Respondent: Aligarh Muslim University and Another
Citation: 1998 (1) AWC 722
Court: In the High Court of Allahabad

Facts

Dr Khalid was a confirmed Lecturer in Sanskrit in the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. By means of this petition, he prayed that three per cent reservation should be made for the post of Sanskrit Rear in favor of physically handicapped persons. He claimed to be a physically handicapped person and relied on Section 39 of the provisions of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995.

Observations of the Court

The Court held that Section 39 had no application in the present case because is dealt with reservations for seats in an educational institution and not for posts. In this connection, reference to Section 32 of the same Act which uses the word posts, was made, and it was held that ‘posts’ were meant for the teachers, whereas ‘seats’ were meant for the students.

Hence, Section 39 had no relevance to this case but the relevant provision was Section 33 of the Act, which stated that the appropriate Government could fix the percentage of vacancies, not less than three per cent for the persons with disabilities.

The Court further held that unless the appropriate Government fixed the percentage of vacancies by a notification, Khalid could not get any benefit of being a physically handicapped person. Further, it was stated that the words ‘appropriate Government’ had been defined to mean any establishment wholly or substantially financed by the Central Government.

Since the Aligarh Muslim University was wholly or substantially financed by the Central Government, the appropriate Government in relation to the Aligarh Muslim University was the Central Government.

In the opinion of the Court, the remedy was to approach the Central Government under Section 33 of the Act with the request to issue a notification fixing the percentage of vacancies for such disabled persons.

It was suggested that Khalid could also request the appropriate Government, under Section 32 to identify the posts, which could be reserved for disabled persons. If such a request were made by him, the same would have to be disposed of by the Central Government/ appropriate authority as speedily as possible.

With these observations, this petition was disposed off.

Sections Referred:

  • Sections 32, 33 and 39 of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995