Karnataka High Court News:  The Karnataka High Court has said that 'blind' candidates should be given preference over 'visually impaired' in employment opportunities, provided their disability does not impede their ability to perform their duties.

Why did the court make such a comment

In fact, a division bench of Justice Krishna S. Dixit and Justice CM Joshi gave this decision while dismissing the appeal of the School Education Department against the order of the Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal (KSAT). This case is related to HN Lata, a blind candidate of the Scheduled Caste community in Mysuru district. Lata had applied for the post of Kannada and Social Studies teacher in a government primary school in 2022. Her name was included in the selection list released on March 8, 2023.

Know the court's comment

However, her application was rejected in July 2023. Latha challenged this decision before the KSAT. The tribunal ruled in her favour, ordering her to be paid a compensation of Rs 10,000 and directed the appointing authority to reconsider her application within three months. The School Education Department opposed this decision, arguing that reservation for 'visually impaired' and 'blind' candidates should be considered as separate categories.

On this, the department claimed that the tribunal had ignored this difference. On reviewing the case, the High Court disagreed with the department's stand. The bench cited notable historical figures including Homer, John Milton, Louis Braille, Helen Keller and Bollant Industries CEO Srikanth Bolla, who achieved great success despite being blind.