This case concerns an appeal to the Supreme Court by a government employee subjected to multi-year suspension and compulsory retirement in 2007 on the basis of the employee’s alleged “insanity.” The Court found that the government violated the Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995 in suspending and later forcibly retiring Mr. Mahajan.
The Court declared that Mr. Mahajan would have reached superannuation on July 31, 2012. The Court set aside Mr. Mahajan’s compulsory retirement order from 2007, as well as an order from the Central Administrative Tribunal from 2008, and the order from the High Court in 2010. The Court ordered respondents to treat Mr. Mahajan as if he had continued in the service until the date of his superannuation, including paying his full salary from when he was suspended until his compulsory retirement (minus the subsistence allowance he was given), and his full salary from his compulsory retirement until the date of his superannuation. The Court ordered full retirement benefits based on Mr. Mahajan’s full period of service pursuant to the Court’s decision, ordering respondents to make the payments to Mr. Mahahajan in full within 3 months of the decision or pay 6% interest.
Discrimination against persons with disabilities is widespread in India. The Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995 provides important protections for persons with disabilities, and this case sets a vital precedent of the Act’s enforcement.
For their contributions, special thanks to ESCR-Net members: the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) at Northeastern University.
