Delhi High Court quashes Railway board decision, protects UPSC candidate with disability

The Delhi High Court has overturned the decision of the Railway Board and the Central Administrative Tribunal to dismiss a man's application in the UPSC Engineering Services Examination, citing his neurological condition as unsuitable for civil engineering roles. The court acknowledged that the candidate, Manish Kumar, holds a 45% locomotor disability, as recognized by a government-issued Unique Disability ID (UDID) card.

The court ruled that the tribunal had made an error in deeming him ineligible for the Civil Engineering Service. Justices C Hari Shankar and Vinod Kumar set aside the Railway Board's cancellation of Kumar's candidature. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had issued an examination notification on September 28, 2016, and Kumar cleared the prelims, mains, and personality tests.

However, a Railway Board medical exam found him to have Generalised Dystonia with Myoclonus and Dysarthria, leading to a show cause notice in February 2018. Kumar presented three disability certificates, including one from the Government of India, which designated his condition as a locomotor disability. The court noted that the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had explicitly included in the category of "locomotor disability" any affliction affecting the musculoskeletal and/or nervous system.

The court upheld the validity of Kumar's disability certificate, rejecting the Railway Board's reliance on the Central Administrative Tribunal's decision.