SC Directs Coal India to Create Supernumerary Post for Visually Impaired Candidate

Case Details: Sujata Bora vs. Coal India Ltd. - [2026] 182 taxmann.com 302 (SC)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• J. B. Pardiwala & K. V. Viswanathan, JJ.
• Amol Nirmalkumar Suryawanshi, Prashant Sri Kant Kenjale, Ms Srishty Pandey, Ms Damini Vishwakarma & B. Dhananjay, Advs. for the Appellant.
• Vivek Narayan Sharma, AOR, Mrs Mahima Bhardwaj Kalucha, Akash Singh, Adhiraj Wadhera, Dinesh Sharma, Rajeev Kumar Jha & Shubham Awasthi, Advs. for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

In the instant case, an advertisement was published by Coal India Limited (CIL) for the recruitment of Management Trainees in 2019. The appellant applied for the post under the Visually Handicapped (VH) category. The appellant was selected for an interview. However, the appellant was denied employment as her disability exceeded the benchmark disability.

The appellant filed the writ petition before the High Court. The Single Judge of the High Court held that the CIL, being a Public Sector Corporation, could not refuse the appointment in the multiple disabilities category and that it was incumbent upon the CIL to modify the recruitment notifications suitably.

The Single Judge found that the appellant was wrongly denied employment and directed that she be considered at the Initial Medical Examination stage for the 2023 recruitment. The Division Bench of the High Court set aside the order of the Single Judge on the ground that the writ petition was filed after the expiry of the panel. Thereafter, an appeal was filed before the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Held

The Supreme Court held that since the appellant qualified for an interview in the 2019 selection and was denied employment due to no fault of hers, a supernumerary post was to be created, and the Chairman of the CIL was to be directed to provide a suitable position/posting commensurate with the ability of the appellant.

List of Cases Reviewed

• Order of the Division Bench of High Court of Judicature at Calcutta in MAT 2325/2023, dated 3-07-2024 (para 37) set aside

List of Cases Referred to

• Omkar Ramchandra Gond v. Union of India 2024 INSC 775 (para 13)
• Anmol v. Union of India 2025 SCC OnLine SC 387 (para 14)
• Om Rathod v. Director General of Health Services 2024 SCC OnLine SC 3130 (para 15)
• Ch. Joseph v. Telangana SRTC 2025 SCC OnLine SC 1592 (para 16)
• Rajive Raturi v. Union of India (2024) 16 SCC 654 (para 17)
• Minerva Mills Ltd. v. Union of India (1980) 3 SCC 625 (para 18)
• Barsky v. Board of Regents [1954] 347 U.S. 442 (para 19)
• Jane Kaushik v. Union of India 2025 SCC OnLine SC 2257 (para 24).