The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that all disabled candidates, regardless of whether they meet the benchmark disability criteria, are entitled to use scribes for writing their exams.
A benchmark disability is defined as a condition with 40% or more of a specified disability, as certified by a government authority.
A bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan emphasized that it is the Centre’s responsibility to ensure proper and fair implementation of this directive.
“The guidelines issued by the respondent (Centre) must be enforced, allowing all persons with disabilities (PwD), not just those with benchmark disabilities (PwBD), to avail the scribe facility without hindrance,” the court stated.
The bench directed the Centre to revise its office memorandum dated August 10, 2022, remove restrictive conditions, and grant reasonable relaxations.
Key directives issued by the Supreme Court include:
- Uniform Compliance: All authorities, recruitment agencies, and exam-conducting bodies must strictly follow the Centre’s guidelines.
- Periodic Sensitization: Educational institutions should conduct awareness drives to ensure proper implementation.
- Grievance Redressal Mechanism: The Centre must establish an online portal where candidates can lodge complaints before approaching the courts.
- Extended Scribe Certificate Validity: The six-month validity period of scribe certificates should be extended, particularly for candidates in rural areas, to avoid delays in accessing the facility.
- Pre-Exam Familiarization: Authorities must provide candidates adequate time before exams to get familiar with their assigned scribes.
The Centre has been given two months to implement these measures.
The ruling came in response to a PIL filed by Gulshan Kumar, a candidate seeking scribe assistance, compensatory time, and other disability-related accommodations for bank examinations.
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