The Supreme Court rules that public job advertisements cannot use the term “disabled.”
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) to prevent the use of the term "disabled" in job advertisements on Friday. Instead, people with disabilities or different abilities ought to be utilized.
The verdict was made public by the SC division bench, which included Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah.
The PPSC is instructed to avoid using the term “disabled” and instead use the terms “persons with disabilities” or “persons with different abilities.” the Supreme Court stated.
The ruling stated that the Supreme Court hoped these terms would be included in official correspondence and government notifications, such as public advertisements, in the future.
To ensure that this order is carried out in spirit and letter at the national level, the supreme court ordered copies of the verdict to be sent to the Punjab chief secretary, government, and chief secretaries of other provinces.
What took place?
Mubarik Ali Babar, the petitioner, objected to the seats that were allotted to people of color and people with disabilities (PWDs) in the Punjab Public Service Commission’s 2015 Combined Competitive Examination (CCE).
Out of 62 positions advertised by the PPSC for the Provincial Management Service (BS-17) position, There were 53 open merit positions, including six for PWDs and three for minorities.
The petitioner questioned the validity of the allocation and reservation of seats for the aforementioned two categories and requested that the seats reserved against this special quota be made available to other deserving candidates applying under the general quota on open merit in the event that this quota is not filled in a given year.
The petitioner’s claim was rejected by the Lahore High Court (LHC).
According to the verdict, “in order to actualize the constitutional mandate and the vision of our founding father, we have the Disabled Persons (Employment and Rehabilitation) Ordinance, 1981” (the “Ordinance”), which has translated into provincial laws following the 18th amendment.15 Provisions of the Ordinance are pari materia to the Punjab Law.”
In addition, it stated that “Section 10 of the Ordinance, as applicable in Punjab, provides that not less than 3% of the total number of persons employed by an establishment at any time shall be PWDs in the manner and procedure provided under the said Ordinance.” In a similar vein, the S&GAD (Regulations Wing) issued a notification on 27.3.2010 in accordance with section 23 of the Punjab Civil Servants Act, 1974, stating that “5% quota must be reserved for minorities (Non-Muslims) against the total number of posts advertised in the future, including posts to be filled on the basis of competitive examination to be conducted by the PPSC.”
“The vacancies reserved for minorities for which qualified candidates are not available at the time of a particular recruitment process shall be carried forward and filled through appointment of persons belonging to minorities (Non Muslims) later on, through an amendment brought about in the said notification.”
“The argument of the petitioner that in case the said seats are not filled by PWDs and the Non-Muslim minority in a particular year, the said seats should be opened and made available to general quota,” the verdict stated in response to the petitioner’s claim. As previously stated, this is against the law because it would violate constitutional values, fundamental rights, and the Principles of Policy. It is necessary to keep and move forward the seats designated for PWDs or minorities. They have the right to this quota under the Constitution, and it can’t be taken away or given to other citizens.
Equality of status and opportunity According to the verdicts, “The Constitutional values specifically provide for “equality of status and opportunity,” which means that every person in Pakistan enjoys equal access to opportunities without regard to caste, creed, race, sex, or place of birth, among other factors. Access to employment that allows one to live a decent life is an essential component of equality of status and opportunity.
Right to dignity and PWDs The court ruled that the most basic right to dignity of minorities and PWDs is that they should be treated in the same way as the majority of Muslims and people with more advanced abilities.
Because the Constitution does not make any distinctions, the country’s minorities and PWDs have the same access to these fundamental rights as the rest of Pakistan’s citizens.
