Delhi High Court Seeks Centre, UPSC's Stand On Plea To Reserve 1% Seats In Combined Medical Services Exam For Visually Impaired Candidates

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice on a plea seeking reservation of 1% seats for blind and low vision candidates in the Combined Medical Services Examination (CMSE) as per the mandate of section 34(1)(a) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela sought response of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and Union of India through Departments of Personnel & Training and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The plea has been filed by Mission Accessibility through its non executive director- lawyer Rahul Bajaj. It has been filed through Advocates Amritesh Mishra and Sarah.

The Union Government was represented by CGSC Ashish K Dixit.

It has been submitted that a member of the Petitioner organization sat for CMSE-2024 as a blind or low vision candidate and despite securing the minimum qualifying marks for the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities category, he was not called for the Interview stage for want of reservation for the category of disability.

The petition refers to Section 34 of the enactment which states that all Government establishments shall reserve not less than 4% of the total number of vacancies for persons with benchmark disabilities, of which a minimum of 1% must be specifically reserved for persons with blindness and low vision.

As per the plea, the UPSC, which conducts the Combined Medical Services Examination for recruitment to various posts under Central Health Services, Indian Railways, and other Government establishments, has failed to comply with the said statutory obligation.

“The Examination Notices for CMSE-2024 and CMSE-2025 reveal that not a single post—out of 827 and 705 vacancies respectively—has been reserved for blind or low vision candidates. This non-reservation constitutes a direct and blatant violation of Section 34 of the RPwD Act. Pertinently, reservation is granted to other categories of disabilities, such as locomotor disabilities, and there is no valid basis for the exclusion of those with blindness and low vision,” the plea states.

“In a country where there is a well-acknowledged shortage of medical professionals, there is no rational basis to exclude doctors with blindness or low vision—especially those who have duly completed their MBBS degrees and compulsory internships—from service opportunities. With appropriate accommodations, such professionals are fully capable of performing various essential duties associated with public healthcare roles,” it adds.

The plea seeks a direction on the Department of EPWD to identify the posts that can be occupied by blind and low vision persons in the Combined Medical Services.

A direction is also sought on DoPT, DoEPWD and Union Ministry of Family Welfare to work out reasonable accommodations required by persons with blindness and low vision in the Combined Medical Services and to take steps to provide the same.

Title: MISSION ACCESSIBILITY v. UNION PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION & ORS