Why were other candidates chosen for PwD seats: Disability comm to JPSC

Ranchi: The state disability commissioner, Satish Chandra, shot off a letter to Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) on Thursday asking the latter to clarify why candidates from other categories were chosen for seats allocated for persons with disabilities (PWD).
The letter was issued three days after the state government recommended the personnel department to initiate the joining process of 326 candidates who cleared the sixth JPSC exam.
Incidentally, the state personnel department in 2016 had adopted a resolution at the direction of the Jharkhand high court to reserve a seat on the basis of eligibility for Vivek Kumar Singh, a PWD candidate in the fourth JPSC exam. But JPSC ignored the resolution and selected two other candidates on the PWD seats.
The letter also directed JPSC to conduct an inquiry into the matter and to ensure that 4% reservation is given to candidates from the PWD category as per the provisions of the Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act.
Controller of examination, JPSC Gyanendra Kumar said, “The candidate in question is from the fourth JPSC and the commission had recommended his name during the fifth JPSC as per the resolution of the state personnel department. Also, we haven’t yet examined the letter issued by the disability commissioner.”
On being quizzed about the selection of two non-PWD candidates for PWD seats in the final merit list published on April 21, Kumar said, “Everything has been done in accordance with the rules and regulations of the state government.” But as per the provisions of the persons with disabilities Act, selection of non-PWD candidates for PWD seats is prohibited, and vacancies, if any, in the PWD category must be added to the next recruitment cycle.
Notably, many successful candidates, among others, have already approached the court alleging irregularities in the final JPSC list.