News

Volume 7 Issue 7 - April 01, 2010

Supreme Court orders immediate reinstatement of teacher with Cerebral Palsy

D.N.I.S. News Network, India: Syed Bashir-ud-din Qadri, a teacher with Cerebral Palsy, finally got justice. The Supreme Court stood by Qadri while ticking off the Jammu and Kashmir government for not only being insensitive to a physically disabled person but also for being cruel in ignoring his exceptionally good track record as a teaching guide (Rehbar-e-Taleem).

Despite his handicap, Qadri completed his graduation from the University of Kashmir in February 2004. Qadri was employed as a Rehbar-e-Taleem, a teaching guide under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan since 2005.

Soon thereafter, some mischievous elements filed a complaint with the Director of Education that Qadri being a person with cerebral palsy was not fit to be appointed as a teaching guide. The matter reached the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. They held that Qadri, due to speech and writing difficulty, would find it tough to perform the duties of a teacher.

The Director of Education's expert committee made an on-the-spot inquiry and found that Qadri was well versed with the subject he taught and did justice to his teaching duties. Inspite of that, in 2007, Qadri’s appointment was quashed by the High Court, compelling him to move to the Supreme Court.

A bench comprising Justices Altamas Kabir and Cyriac Joseph said in their judgment, "His performance as a teacher was reflected in the exceptionally good results that he achieved in his discipline in the classes taught by him. It is unfortunate that inspite of the positive aspects of the appellant's functioning as a teaching guide and the clear and unambiguous object of the law, the High Court adopted a view which was not compatible therewith."

The bench has asked the state to immediately reinstate Qadri and pay all arrears treating as if Qadri's services had never been terminated.