SC seeks Centre’s reply on PIL for grant of quota in jobs to speech-disabled individuals | India Information

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday requested the center’s response to a petition requesting a quota benefit in state employment for people with language and language disabilities. “Speech and language impairment” refers to a permanent disability caused by conditions such as laryngectomy or aphasia that affect one or more components of speech and language due to organic or neurological causes.
A bench of Supreme Judge Ranjan Gogoi and Judges KM Joseph and MR Shah issued a notice to the Center on the PIL submitted by Reepal Kansal, stating that disabled people who fall into the “speech and language disability” category while enjoying a reservation, they will not receive training in the public service.
Attorney Yadunandan Bansal, who appeared for Kansal, said the center was unjustified in not giving employment reservations to people with language and language disabilities and that doing so amounted to discrimination.
The petition, filed by attorney Ashutosh Garg, said that failure to provide quota benefits to such disabled people was “a blatant violation of their rights under the Disability Rights Act 2016”.
The PIL also called it “illogical” that people with speech and language disabilities were given reservations in education due to their benchmark disability under Section 32 of the Act, but were denied employment benefit under Section 34 of the Act, which is based on Job vacancies in government institutions.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had set up a committee by resolution of January 4, 2018 to provide guidelines for the assessment and certification of 12 newly identified disabilities, including language and language disabilities, in the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.