Himachal HC directs state govt to implement Disabilities Act

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the state government to implement the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, in letter and spirit, in a case of a blind girl who was denied admission by Himachal Pradesh University.
The court also asked the chief secretary and the registrar of Himachal Pradesh University to file an affidavit, detailing the steps taken to implement section 32 of the Act related to 5 per cent reservation quota for disabled students.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Ajay Mohan Goel had treated the letter of Indu Kumari, a blind girl from district Chamba, who was denied admission in MA (Political Science) by H P University that did not implement the new law, as PIL and directed the varsity to give admission to the petitioner and consider similar cases of some other students for admission and hostel facility.

The bench observed that the government did not sent directions to different departments for the implementation of the Act and the "request" of the nodal department did not work.
Kumari, a poor, blind girl from the backward district of Chamba, had written a letter to the chief justice on July 21 saying that she passed her BA examination from RKMV College, Shimla with full scholarship from Umang Foundation but after denial of admission, her future has become "dark" as she could not go out of the state to study due to poverty.
Arjun Lall, amicus curie, informed the court that the H P University has also denied admission to some other disabled students by not implementing the enhanced quota of 5 per cent for higher education.

These students included Vijay Kumar and Jatinder Kumar, both visually impaired, who sought admission in B Ed in Dharamshala and Shimla, respectively, and Ravinder Kumar, a physically disabled person, in MA (Economics).

When he apprised the court that 5 per cent quota was not given in hostel accommodation by H P University, the bench asked the varsity to consider their cases in accordance with the law.
The court said, "It is the responsibility of the government to ensure complete and proper implementation of the provisions of the Act. It is an obligation, coupled with duty, cast upon the government to ensure compliance of the statuary provisions".

Ajai Srivastava, chairman of Umang Foundation which is fighting for the rights of disabled students, welcomed the orders of the court and said it would prove to be a milestone in the empowerment of the students.