Provide writers for disabled students: Delhi HC to
ICAI
New Delhi:
The Delhi High Court Monday directed the Institute of Chartered Accountants of
India (ICAI) to prepare a panel of writers to assist disabled students in
appearing for the chartered accountancy examinations that it conducts.
The court
has asked that the panel be constituted within six months.
Justice V.K.
Jain said that for preparing the panel of scribes to assist disabled students, the
institute should either itself empanel appropriate people to function as
scribes, or engage the panel prepared by other universities such as Jawaharlal
Nehru University and Delhi University. Both these universities maintain a panel
of scribes to assist students with disability, especially those visually
impaired, in taking examinations.
The court’s
order came on a PIL filed by a visually impaired chartered accountant student
Reena Bhatia, who sought a direction to the institute to prepare a panel of
competent scribes who could assist disabled students in taking examinations.
The ICAI had
told the court that it has not maintained its own panel of scribes as it had no
campus of its own and conducted examinations at as many as 377 centres spread
over 96 cities across the country, as well as in four cities abroad.
On this, the
court directed ICAI to prepare a panel of scribes to assist differently abled
people at least in the “major cities where examinations are held by it”.
“The
respondent no.1 (ICAI) shall prepare, at least in major cities, its own panel
of scribes/writers, to be provided to the differently abled persons on receipt
of a written request from them. For this purpose, ICAI may either itself
empanel appropriate persons to function as scribes/writers or it may adopt the
panel of scribes/writers, if any, prepared by other universities/institutions,”
the court said in its order.
It further
added that the candidates will have to arrange their own scribes at places
where ICAI was not able to prepare a panel of scribes.
The court
also said that ICAI will pay the fee of the scribes, whether the writer is
arranged by the candidate or by the university.
“The ICAI
shall prepare, within three months, a schedule of charges to be paid to the
scribes/writers who assist differently abled persons in the examination
conducted by it and it shall pay to the scribes/writers from the panel or
reimburse the candidates, wherever candidates are permitted to engage their own
writers/scribes, as per the rates approved by the ICAI in this regard,” the
order stated.
Still after 17 years of implementation of the PWD Act 1995, Courts have to direct for such things is a matter of shame of Govt. as well as us.....
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