Supreme Court: In a petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India (‘Constitution’), by an aspirant/petitioner of Uttarakhand Judicial Service Civil Judge, whose request for a scribe to attempt the examination was denied by the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (‘respondent’), the Division-Bench of Dr D.Y. Chandrachud, C.J and Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha, J., allowed the petition and directed the respondent to provide a scribe to the petitioner for appearing in the Civil Judges preliminary examination in Uttarakhand.
Factual Matrix
The petitioner is a practising lawyer and aimed at attempting the Uttarakhand Judicial Service Civil Judge Preliminary Examination 2023 to be held on 30-04-2023. The petitioner suffers from the writer’s cramp i.e., a condition in which the person is unable to write due to neurological movement disorder. The petitioner is undergoing treatment for the disability at the Department of Neurology, All India Institute of Medical Science, New Delhi since 2017 and was issued a certificate by the latter stating that he is suffering from writer’s cramp.
The case of the petitioner was that he made a representation before the respondents on 22-04-2023, seeking permission for a scribe while attempting the preliminary examination to be held on 30-04-2023. However, the respondents denied the petitioner’s request to grant a scribe. Thus, aggrieved by the respondent’s decision, the petitioner had approached the Court to issue an appropriate writ or direction to the respondents.
Court’s Order
The Court noted that the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences had issued a certificate dated 25-09-2017, indicating that the petitioner suffered from a writers’ cramp and must be considered for granting a scribe/ extra time for the examination. The Court also took note of the fact that the petitioner’s request for scribe was denied by the respondent on 20-04-2023.
Placing its reliance on the principle laid down in Vikash Kumar v. Union Public Service Commission, 2020 SCC OnLine SC 1119, the Court issued an ad-interim direction to the respondent to provide a scribe to the petitioner for appearance in the preliminary examination.
[Dhananjay Kumar v. Uttarakhand Public Service Commission, 2023 SCC OnLine SC 539, Order Dated: 28-04-2023]
