Disabled UPSC candidate denied service despite clearing exam four times
UPSC candidate with muscular dystrophy has been denied any service despite having cleared the examination four times, reported TOI. This comes amid the controversy over IAS officer Puja Khedkar allegedly misusing the disability quota.
IIT Roorkee graduate Kartik Kansal, who has been using a wheelchair since he was 14 years old, was selected for the civil services four times in 2019 (rank 813), 2021 (271), 2022 (784) and 2023 (829). Kansal is currently a scientist in Isro, a post for which he was selected through all-India central recruitment.
In 2021, he ranked 271 even without a disability quota and should have got IAS as ranks 272 and 273 got IAS in that year. However, in 2021, muscular dystrophy was not included in the list of conditions in functional classification eligible for IAS.
Muscular dystrophy was included in the list for Indian Revenue Service (income Tax) Group A and Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Excise), which were his second and third choices.
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In 2019, Kansal got 813 rank and should have gotten into the service as there were 15 vacancies for locomotor disability and only 14 were filled. In 2021, there were seven vacancies in the locomotor disability category and only four were filled. He ranked number one in the category.
The medical board in AIIMS has certified that he had muscular weakness and both his arms and legs were affected by muscular dystrophy. Surprisingly, for IAS, persons with both arms
