Sudhanshu Kardam Vs Comptroller and Auditor General of India and Ors. (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court considered an appeal arising from a judgment of the Delhi High Court dated 29 May 2025 concerning recruitment to the post of Auditor under the Combined Graduate Level Examination (CGLE) 2018 conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC). The recruitment process, initiated in 2018, included vacancies for the post of Auditor in the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), with two posts earmarked for the “Other Persons with Disabilities” category.
One candidate applied under the “Persons with Disabilities – Other” category and the Other Backward Class category. He possessed a disability certificate issued by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities stating that he suffered from mental illness with a disability assessed at 55%. He successfully cleared the Tier-I, Tier-II, and Tier-III stages of the examination and qualified for the final stage involving skill test and document verification. After indicating his preference for the Auditor post, he was recommended for appointment.
However, when the State/Office Allocation List was declared in September 2021, the CAG returned the dossier of the candidate to the SSC on the ground that the post of Auditor had not been identified as suitable for persons with benchmark disabilities suffering from mental illness. The rejection of his candidature was formally communicated thereafter. The candidate submitted representations and grievances asserting that the rejection was arbitrary and relied on a notification dated 4 January 2021 issued by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment which identified certain posts as suitable for persons with benchmark disabilities, including mental illness. Receiving no response, he approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) seeking appointment under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
