Reena Banerjee vs Government of NCT of Delhi 2025 INSC 1101 - Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act - Reservation - Project Ability Empowerment

Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 - Section 34- Reservation - The principle of upward movement, whereby a meritorious reserved category candidate securing marks above the general cut-off is migrated to the unreserved list, ensures both fairness and the effective utilisation of reservations. Unfortunately, persons with disabilities are presently not given the benefit of upward movement -Union of India to explain whether appropriate measures have been taken to provide the upward movement of meritorious candidates applying against the post/s reserved for persons with disabilities, in case such candidate secures more than the cut-off for the unreserved category. The same principle must also be applied to promotions. Such consideration must be guided by the overarching aim that the true and substantive benefit of reservations reaches those most in need, ensuring that no person with disability is ignored from his rightful claim to the post, merely due to the compounded barriers of poverty, stigma, and lack of access.  (Para 48-53)

Constitution of India - Article 14,19,21 - Disabled Persons - Article 14 has been expanded to include substantive equality, requiring not only equal treatment but also reasonable accommodation and removal of systemic barriers. Article 19, particularly the right to freedom of expression and movement, has been interpreted to mandate accessible formats, transport, and communication. Article 21 anchors the right to life with dignity, recognising that dignity is not a privilege but an entitlement, especially for those who are institutionally marginalised - Several Directions issued on implementation of ‘Project Ability Empowerment’ . (Para 47)