Why no question booklets in braille, HC asks UGC

The Delhi High Court today asked the University Grants Commission (UGC) why question booklets in braille could not be provided to the visually-impaired candidates appearing in the National Eligibility Test (NET), who did not want to be assisted by a scribe.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said there could be several candidates who might have a speech or hearing impairment, apart from being visually challenged, and for them, a scribe might not be helpful.

"What if someone wants to write their own answers? What if a candidate is visually and speech impaired or hearing impaired? What will the scribe do in such situations," the court asked the UGC and listed the matter for further hearing on July 31.

The petitioner, Nitin Jain, sought for an earlier date, saying the NET was scheduled to be held on July 8.

The court, however, said it would not be able to do anything this year and declined his request for an earlier date of hearing.

Jain, in his plea, has sought that question booklets and answer-sheets in braille be provided to visually-impaired candidates, who do not want the help of a scribe.