Hearing and speech-impaired govt. engineer need not clear Tamil test, rules Madras HC

Hearing and speech-impaired govt. engineer need not clear Tamil test, rules Madras HC

The court wondered how the petitioner, suffering from 100% hearing and speech impairment, could be expected to attend a viva voce as part of the test.

Mohamed Imranullah S.

CHENNAI 29.10.2024 

The Madras High Court has come to the rescue of a Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) engineer suffering from 100% hearing and speech impairment and facing the threat of discharge from service for not having cleared the Tamil language test, which comprises a written examination and viva voce.

Justice N. Anand Venkatesh exercised the extraordinary powers of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution and directed the TNHB to exempt the engineer, B. Vidyasagar, serving in the technical cell at the board’s headquarters at Koyambedu in Chennai, from the language test.

The judge issued a consequential direction to the TNHB Managing Director to issue specific proceedings for granting such exemption, within four weeks. He also ordered payment of all increments and attendant benefits that had reportedly been withheld from the engineer for not having cleared the Tamil language test.

“The case in hand depicts the sorry state of affairs that prevails in society while dealing with differently abled persons,” the judge said, and lauded the petitioner for his “grit and determination” in having completed school studies in English, obtaining an engineering degree in 2003, and securing a job in the TNHB in 2014.

Since a Government Order issued on July 9, 1996 states that government servants must clear the Tamil language test and produce a certificate, and it does not grant any exemption to the physically challenged, the TNHB had informed the petitioner that he would be discharged from service unless he clears the test.

Wondering how the petitioner, suffering from 100% hearing and speech impairment, could be expected to attend a viva voce as part of the language test, the judge said that the petitioner’s efforts to get integrated into the mainstream of society should not get disrupted due to his discharge from service.

“The barriers faced by persons with disabilities go beyond just physical accessibility issues, extending to deep-rooted prejudice, stereotypes and misconceptions that pervade many aspects of society,” the judge said.

“A constitutional court must develop an understanding of the societal, attitudinal, cultural, institutional, structural, legal and environmental barriers that persons with disabilities encounter every day. The constitutional court must strive to remove these barriers through its rulings,” Justice Venkatesh said.