In a significant judgment reinforcing the rights of persons with disabilities, the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court quashed the cancellation of a 100% visually impaired candidate’s selection for the post of Junior Executive (Law) at the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The Court held that the rejection of her candidature was arbitrary, discriminatory, and contrary to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
Justice Javed Iqbal Wani, presiding over the matter, directed AAI to reconsider the case of petitioner Shivani Misri in accordance with Section 3(5) of the Disabilities Act, which mandates reasonable accommodation to enable persons with disabilities to participate equally in professional and public life.
Misri, a law graduate from Jammu University with an LLM from Punjab, had applied for the role under the reserved category for persons with benchmark disabilities. AAI’s 2022 notification included three out of 18 vacancies specifically for candidates with visual impairments, including both “blindness” and “low vision.” Misri cleared the computer-based exam and was shortlisted in December 2023.
However, during document verification, AAI withheld her result, citing that she did not meet the job’s “functional requirements” of seeing, reading, and writing. Despite submitting a fresh disability certificate and an affidavit explaining her medical condition, her selection was annulled via a letter dated December 13, 2024.
The Union of India defended the cancellation, arguing that Misri had initially declared herself as “low vision” but her medical certificate categorized her as “blind.” The Court, however, observed that this reasoning ignored both the job advertisement and the legal protections under the Disabilities Act.
Justice Wani emphasized that public employers are under a statutory obligation to ensure non-discrimination and accommodate individuals with disabilities. Since AAI’s own notification accepted applicants with blindness, excluding Misri amounted to unlawful discrimination.
The Court ordered that AAI must reinitiate the selection process for Misri within six weeks and communicate its decision within two weeks thereafter.
Advocate Nikhil Padha represented the petitioner, while Advocate Inderjeet Gupta appeared for the respondents.
