Multiple Sclerosis Qualifies As 'Specified Disability' Under RPWD Act, Delhi High Court Upholds PwD Reservation In SSC Recruitment

The Delhi High Court has upheld the grant of reservation benefits under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPWD Act) to a candidate suffering from multiple sclerosis and low vision, holding that multiple sclerosis is a “specified disability” under the statute. A division bench of Justices C. Hari Shankar and Vinod Kumar dismissed a plea by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) challenging the Central Administrative Tribunal's order directing appointment of the candidate under the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) quota.While doing so, the Court rejected SSC's contention that multiple sclerosis is not among the disabilities contemplated under Section 34 of the RPWD Act and could not be considered for reservation in public employment.“Multiple sclerosis is specifically a disability mentioned in Clause 4(a)(i) of the Schedule to RPWD Act,” the Court observed, adding that a restrictive interpretation of the legislation would defeat its underlying objective of extending benefits to as many persons with disabilities as possible.The Respondent suffers from multiple sclerosis of the brain and low vision in both eyes. She possessed a disability certificate issued by the Department of Empowerment of PwD in October 2021, certifying 15% disability due to low vision and 30% disability due to multiple sclerosis, with her overall disability assessed at 40%.She had applied for the Combined Graduate Level Examination (CGLE) 2021 conducted by the SSC for recruitment against posts reserved for persons with disabilities. Although she successfully cleared all stages of the selection process and was called for document verification, her candidature was rejected on the ground that “Multiple Sclerosis Disease not admissible for reservation.”The High Court observed that Section 34(1) consists of two distinct parts. While the first part casts a statutory obligation on establishments to reserve at least 4% vacancies for “persons with benchmark disabilities”, the latter part merely distributes that quota among different categories of disabilities.The bench noted that “person with benchmark disability” has been defined under Section 2(r) of the RPWD Act as a person suffering from at least 40% of a “specified disability”, while Section 2(z)(c) defines “specified disability” as one enumerated in the Schedule to the Act. Since multiple sclerosis is expressly recognised as a chronic neurological condition under Clause 4(a)(i) of the Schedule, a person suffering from the condition would qualify as a person with benchmark disability, the Court held.“Inasmuch as (i) multiple sclerosis is a disability which is specifically envisaged in the Schedule to the RPWD Act, (ii) multiple sclerosis is, therefore, a 'specified disability' within the meaning of Section 2(z)(c) and (iii) a person suffering from multiple sclerosis is, therefore, a 'person with benchmark disability' within the meaning of Section 2(r), it cannot be disputed that the respondent is a person with benchmark disability,” the Court held.The Court further held that the second part of Section 34(1) could not be interpreted in a manner that narrows the scope of the first part and excludes persons suffering from benchmark disabilities. Reliance was placed on Supreme Court decisions in Vikash Kumar v. UPSC (2021), Ravinder Kumar Dhariwal v. Union of India (2023) and In Re: Recruitment of Visually Impaired in Judicial Services (2025) to reiterate that the provisions of the RPWD Act must be interpreted expansively and in a manner that furthers the statute's objective.The Court also noted that SSC's own recruitment advertisement recognised multiple sclerosis as one of the disabilities entitling candidates to reservation. The prescribed format of the disability certificate annexed to the notification specifically listed “multiple sclerosis” among the eligible disabilities.The bench further observed that, once a disability certificate had been issued by the competent authority under the RPWD Act, the SSC could not disregard it.“By virtue of this clause, the SSC cannot go behind the certificate issued by the competent authority under the RPWD Act,” the Court observed.As such, the High Court dismissed the writ petition and upheld the directions granting relief to Respondent.Appearance: Mr. Ankit Raj, SPC with Mr. Saurabh Mishra, Adv. for Petitioner; Mr. R.K. Handoo, Adv. for RespondentsCase Title: Union of India v. Preeti Vaid & Anr.Case no.: W.P.(C) 8960/2026 Click here to read order

Multiple Sclerosis Qualifies As 'Specified Disability' Under RPWD Act, Delhi High Court Upholds PwD Reservation In SSC Recruitment

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Multiple Sclerosis Qualifies As 'Specified Disability' Under RPWD Act, Delhi High Court Upholds PwD Reservation In SSC Recruitment

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