The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has initiated an enquiry against six civil servants including probationers and serving officials to re-examine their disability parameters, said a source.
DoPT wrote to the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) on July 26 to re-examine the disability status of the candidates by a medical board.
The officials- five Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers and an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) got into the services by availing reservation benefits under the People with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) category.
The probe is launched suo-motu by DoPT following several social media posts where in the aftermath of Puja Khedkar’s case, users questioned the sanctity of PwBD quota as social media profiles of the officers showed them dancing, playing sports and other outdoor activities, in contravention to the physical condition described by them in official records.
The IAS and IRS officers cleared the exams in 2010, 2014, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
The board will re-examine the disability certificates submitted at the time of applying for the examination.
After a candidate has been called for personal interview, they are required to undergo a physical fitness at government hospitals designated by the DoPT. The Medical Examination of PwBD category candidates is conducted at the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi and later a Benchmark Disability Expert Panel (BDEP) at AIIMS, Delhi confirms the Commission. A Central Standing Medical Board (CSMB) gives the final recommendation based on the reports of general Medical Examination and BDEP. After the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) declares the results and recommends the candidates for the Civil Services Examination, DoPT allocates the services after applying various quota including the PwBD criteria. A candidate may have secured a high rank but he or she may still be denied a service by DoPT.
Published - August 01, 2024 03:58 am IST
