Consider plea of para-athletes: Telangana High Court to govt

HYDERABAD: A bench, comprising Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice CV Bhaskar Reddy, of the Telangana High Court on Thursday ordered the State government to positively consider including para-athletes under the sports reservation category. The administration was instructed to make a decision as quickly as possible and notify the court of its decision by February 6.

Through this programme, the State government offers eligible athletes a 2 per cent reservation in employment for State government jobs and admission to educational institutions. The Telangana government’s policy of excluding those who participate in para-athletics from the sports quota reservations was the subject of a petition brought before the bench by a small group of aggrieved para-athletes.

According to the government, para-athletics is a form of athletics that is played by people with disabilities who are already eligible for reservations under the 3 per cent physically handicapped quota. The government argued that if para-athletes were included in the sports quota, it would affect athletes who competed at the State and national levels.

Baglekar Akash Kumar, the petitioners’ attorney, argued against the government’s claims. He asked that when the government provides a vertical system and a horizontal system in reservations, such as a woman candidate being qualified for both caste reservation (vertical) and women quota (horizontal), why can’t para-athletes have this facility?

After hearing the arguments of the lawyers, Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan concluded that the petitioners’ claim is reasonable and ordered the government to examine it favourably.