The Lahore High Court on Tuesday ordered the Punjab Public Service Commission to appoint a blind man as lecturer in English subject against the two per cent quota reserved for handicapped persons at public sector institutions.
Hearing a petition filed by Jabir Hussain, Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan observed that the disabled could not be left at the mercy of the society.
The petitioner submitted that he had a master’s degree in English literature. He said he had applied for the post of lecturer advertised by the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC). He passed the written examination but was not selected in the interview in violation of the two percent quota sanction for disabled persons in government departments.
A provincial law officer said the petitioner did not meet the merit.
A PPSC law officer told the court that the petitioner had obtained third division in the MA examinations while the post of lecture required a second division and a diploma in English teaching.
The judge observed that courts had to protect the fundamental rights of citizens. The disabled could not be left to beg on streets.
The petitioner’s lawyer Muhammad Azhar Siddique informed the court that the PPSC had advertised 223 lecturers’ seats. He said five posts were reserved for disabled people, but not a single person had been appointed so far against the quota.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 20th, 2013.