Supreme Court junks plea seeking reservation in polls for disabled

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking a two per cent reservation in parliamentary, assembly and gram panchayat elections for persons with disability.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih said, "How can we issue such a direction? This is a matter of policy." The bench went on to ask the petitioner, who appeared in person, "Had it be with regard to employment or something, we could have considered it. But how can we direct this?" The petitioner referred to the apex court's November 8 2024 order which directed the Centre to implement mandatory accessibility standards within three months.

The bench said if the disabled were not getting access to any public offices, the top court was ensuring that the same be made possible.

The court, the bench observed, has said there should be lifts and ramps in public offices so that disabled did not find any difficulty in access.

"We are not inclined to entertain this petition. The writ petition is, accordingly, dismissed," the bench held.

The plea sought a direction to the Centre and others to provide reservation in elections, preferably two per cent, for persons with disability.

In its order passed in November last year in a separate matter, the apex court underscored the necessity of "meaningful access" for persons with disability to public spaces and mandated a two-pronged approach -- adapting existing infrastructures to accessibility standards, and ensuring that all new infrastructure is designed to be inclusive from the outset.