Delhi High Court Issues Notice On Plea Challenging Exclusion Of Autism, Mental Illness & Learning Disability Candidates From UPSC Reservation

The Delhi High Court has issued notice on a public interest litigation challenging the exclusion of candidates with autism, intellectual disabilities, specific learning disabilities and mental illness from reservation benefits in the Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

A Division Bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia sought responses from the Union Government and UPSC, directing them to file their counter affidavits within four weeks.

“The counter affidavit on behalf of Union of India shall be filed by an officer of an appropriate level in consultation with the other departments of the Central Government, which have been arrayed as party respondents except the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, on whose behalf a separate counter affidavit shall be filed,” the Court directed.

The plea contends that the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2026 notification effectively excludes persons falling under Section 34(1)(d) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act)—covering autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness—from availing reservation benefits, while extending such benefits to other categories of benchmark disabilities.

It argues that although such candidates are permitted to appear in the examination, they are denied reservation and service allocation benefits, resulting in a “blanket exclusion” that defeats the purpose of the RPwD Act and violates Articles 14, 15, 16 and 21 of the Constitution.

The petitioner has further submitted that the exclusion is contrary to statutory obligations under Section 34 of the RPwD Act, which mandates reservation for persons with benchmark disabilities, and runs counter to the inclusive framework laid down by the Supreme Court in multiple judgments emphasising equality, non-discrimination and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities.

It is also contended that government notifications identifying posts suitable for persons with disabilities include roles that can be performed by candidates falling under the excluded categories, making their complete exclusion from civil services arbitrary and unjustified.

The matter is now listed for further hearing on April 29.

Appearance: Petitioner in person; Mr.Abhishek Gupta, CGSC with Mr.Kushagra Sachdeva, GP for UOI. Mr.Ravinder Agarwal, Adv. with Mr.Manish Kumar Singh and Mr.Vasu Agarwal, Advs. for R3/UPSC.

Case title: Siddhant Tomar v. Union Of India Through Secretary Department Of Personnel And Traininig & Ors.

Case no.: W.P.(C) 3028/2026

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