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Supreme Court of India· 17 March 2023

Can guidelines governing reasonable accommodation for candidates with disabilities be frozen for the future?

ARNAB ROY v. CONSORTIUM OF NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITIES & ANR.
2023 INSC 261 · Writ Petition (Civil) No 1109 of 2022
Coram: Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud; Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha; J B Pardiwala
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Answer

No. The nature and contents of the Guidelines cannot be frozen for the future. The examination body is at liberty to modify them bearing in mind the exigencies of the situation and the constantly evolving nature of the knowledge and experience gained in conducting the examination.

Headnote

Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 — s.2(r) — s.2(s) — Constitution of India — Art.32 — Reasonable accommodation — Scribe — Entrance examination — Guidelines — Notification in advance — Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 — Reasonable accommodation — Guidelines to be notified with the advertisement — Held: Guidelines governing the facilities to be extended to PwD candidates must be notified sufficiently in advance and, in any event, together with the advertisement placing the examination schedule in the public domain, so that candidates are not left in a state of uncertainty. (¶17) Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 — s.2(s) — Scribe where disability is below the benchmark — Held further: A candidate with a specified disability who has difficulty in writing is entitled to the facility of a scribe and compensatory time on production of a certificate from the competent medical authority of a Government healthcare institution. (¶10) Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 — Qualification of the scribe — integrity of the examination — Held further: An examination body may require that the scribe be not qualified above the 11th standard and not be affiliated to any test-preparatory organisation or examination coaching centre, where it undertakes to provide such a scribe itself. (¶25, 27) Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 — Guidelines not frozen — liberty to modify — Held further: The nature and contents of such Guidelines cannot be frozen for the future and remain open to modification as experience is gained in conducting the examination. Writ Petition and Miscellaneous Application disposed of. (¶28, 29)

In the Court's own words
Paragraph 28The nature and contents of the Guidelines cannot be frozen for the future. The Consortium would be at liberty to modify the Guidelines bearing in mind the exigencies of the situation and the constantly evolving nature of the knowledge and experience gained in conducting CLAT particularly in the context of the rights of PwD candidates. In the event that any further difficulties are encountered by PwD candidates, those may be brought to the notice of the Consortium well in advance so that suitable remedial measures can be taken consistent with their statutory entitlements.
Acts & Sections
s.2(s) Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016s.2(r) Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016Art.32 Constitution of India

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Also decided in this judgment
Must guidelines on facilities for candidates with disabilities be notified together with the advertisement announcing an entrance examination?Under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, may a candidate whose specified disability is below the benchmark claim a scribe?Can an examination body require that a scribe be not qualified above the 11th standard and not be affiliated to a coaching centre?When an examination body provides the scribe, must the candidate be given time to interact with the scribe before the examination?
Plain-language answer prepared by the LexStreak Editorial Desk — verify against the judgment. Source: Supreme Court of India. Corrections