Duties Of An Electrical Assistant Are "Onerous": Gujarat High Court Rejects Plea For Quashing "Unfit Certificate" Of Colour-Blind Candidate
Affirming that the nature of duties of an Electrical Assistant are "onerous", the Bench comprising Justice Biren Vaishnav at the Gujarat High Court has declined to allow the Petition of a colour-blind candidate seeking the quashment of "unfit certificate" for the said post. The Bench was hearing a Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution. The Petitioner had applied for...
Affirming that the nature of duties of an Electrical Assistant are "onerous", the Bench comprising Justice Biren Vaishnav at the Gujarat High Court has declined to allow the Petition of a colour-blind candidate seeking the quashment of "unfit certificate" for the said post.
The Bench was hearing a Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution.
The Petitioner had applied for the post of an Electrical Assistant and was accordingly, sent for medical examination wherein he was declared unfit basis colour vision blindness. Thereafter, the impugned certificate was issued to him by the Civil Hospital Ahmedabad stating that he was unfit for the position.
The Court noted that this issue was squarely covered by the High Court in SCA No. 6217 of 2021 with 8611 of 2020. In the aforesaid decision, the Petitioner had been appointed as an Apprentice Lineman with the Electricity Company without any mention of his colour blindness. He had contended that if he was found fit for carrying out his duties as lineman, then there should not have been a disqualification for being appointed as an Electrical Assistant. The Ophthalmology Institute, in turn, specifically termed him "unfit" for the aforesaid post.
Referring to the "General Standards of Physical Fitness", the High Court had observed that the Line Staff required the eye to be free from certain infectious conditions. Further, for workers dealing with machines, inflammable substances and other such instruments were required to have "6/6" vision in each eye.
Keeping in view the precedent, the bench ordered:
"looking to the nature of duties which are onerous and when the Electrical Assistant has to deal with live wires, especially during the installation where the colour of the wires is of prime importance, the nature of duties that he has to discharge, if an expert body like the Opthalmology Institute has also opined that the petitioner is colour blind and therefore unfit to be appointed as an Electrical Assistant, this Court cannot find fault with the Corporation's decision in issuing the impugned certificate which stands justified by a subsequent certificate issued by the Opthalmology Institute and denying the appointment to the petitioner to the post of Electrical Assistant of the Electricity Company."
Case Title: BHAVESH KHIMABHAI PANDIT Versus STATE OF GUJARAT
Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Guj) 42
Case No.: C/SCA/2916/2022