Permanent disability certificate is mandatory for claiming reservation benefits under the PwD category.

The applicant, a student with a 40% temporary disability (low vision), applied for the post of Gramin Dak Sevak (GDS) under the 2023 "Special Drive" notification

He was provisionally shortlisted for the post of GDS BPM, Chainpur Branch Office, under the PWD-A category and was called for document verification on 10.10.2023

During verification, it was observed that his disability certificate, issued on 03.03.2023, classified his condition as "temporary" rather than "permanent"

Consequently, the Superintendent of Post Offices, Vidisha, rejected his candidature via a letter dated 11.10.2023 (Annexure A/4)

The applicant challenged this rejection, asserting that his 40% disability should qualify him despite its temporary classification

1. Whether the respondents were legally justified in rejecting the applicant's candidature on the ground that he possessed a temporary disability certificate instead of a permanent one for reservation under the PWD category.

The court applied the selection criteria stipulated in Notification No.-17-31/2023-GDS dated 20.05.2023

The guidelines issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and the Department of Posts mandate that reservation benefits for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) are only available to candidates who possess a Permanent Disability Certificate

The rule establishes that temporary disability certificates do not meet the statutory eligibility requirements for securing employment under reserved categories for persons with disabilities

The Tribunal examined the nature of the applicant's disability certificate and the governing DoPT guidelines. It noted that while the applicant suffered from "Low Vision" with a 40% disability, the certificate itself was explicitly marked as "temporary" and valid only until 03.03.2028

The Tribunal reasoned that the recruitment process is strictly governed by the conditions set forth in the advertisement and the overarching DoPT instructions

Since the DoPT guidelines explicitly state that reservation benefits cannot be granted based on temporary certificates, the respondents' decision was found to be in strict accordance with the law

There was no discrepancy or illegality in the document verification process that would warrant judicial interference

The court found no merit in the Original Application and upheld the rejection of the applicant’s candidature dated 11.10.2023. The Original Application was dismissed, and all pending Miscellaneous Applications were disposed of accordingly.