- (1.) By this petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner, an employee with respondent No.1 State of Maharashtra, has assailed the norms laid down for the purposes of availing the benefit of 3% reservation provided for physically handicapped persons. Submission is, barring a person suffering from visual impairment is not in consonance with the provisions of Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (hereinafter referred to as the "1995 Act") and also it violates Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
(2.) The basic facts are not in dispute. The petitioner has passed his M.B.B.S. course as a physically handicapped person from Government Medical College and Hospital at Aurangabad in 2003. He had taken admission in 1998-99. The petitioner then completed compulsory internship and joined employment as a Medical Officer in 2006. In 2009 he passed M.P.S.C. examination and presently is permanent State Government servant. As he became eligible for acquiring post graduate qualification, he appeared in 2011 PGM SET Entrance Test. He has, in paragraph 4 of his petition, stated that while filling in that form he was informed that the candidates with locomotory disability were only eligible for reservation and hence the petitioner could be denied an opportunity. Because of this information, on the alleged duress, he filled in the form from open category. He cleared the examination and secured 138 marks. The result was declared in third week of February 2011 and he was placed at Sr. No.197. Since he wanted his claim to be considered as a reserved category candidate and to secure benefit of 1995 Act, present petition has been filed. Prayer in the petition is to set aside the bar provided for candidates with other disabilities and restricting the benefit of reservation only to candidates with locomotory disability of lower limbs.
(3.) The session in which the petitioner could have secured that admission on the basis of his performance in PGM SET Entrance Test is already over. The petition is being prosecuted only to enable him to secure the benefit of reservation in future.;