KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday directed the provincial authorities to complete within two months the requisite exercise for the appointment of the differently-abled persons on the quota reserved for them.

A two-judge constitutional bench of the SHC, headed by Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon, also asked the heads of district recruitment committees (DRCs) to act expeditiously and process the cases of petitioners/interveners in accordance with law and the binding dicta of the Supreme Court.

Dozens of people have filed around 15 petitions between 2022 and 2026 while several others have also submitted applications to become interveners in these petitions.

The petitioners and interveners argued that they were differently-abled persons and sought appointments based on the five per cent quota reserved for them in terms of the order of the Supreme Court.

SHC asks district recruitment bodies to expeditiously process cases of petitioners

An assistant advocate general of Sindh (AAG) submitted that there was a mechanism under a digital job portal and an integrated grievance redressal system to ensure the timely resolution of complaints on the subject matter.

The AAG also maintained that the initiative was grounded in the Sindh Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2018 which mandated the protection of rights and equal opportunities for such persons in education, employment, healthcare and public life.

After arguing the matter at some length, all parties concerned agreed to dispose of these petitions in terms of a common order passed by the Supreme Court (SC) in March last year, directing the Sindh government to ensure appointments of differently-abled persons in accordance with the prescribed quota under the law.

The SHC in its order said that the grievance raised in these petitions stood squarely covered by authoritative pronouncements of the SC as well as the consistent view of this court in different petitions on the subject matter.

It also noted that the right of the differently-abled persons to be considered for public employment against the prescribed quota was no longer res integra and it was anchored in the principles of equality as provided in Articles 4, 18, and 25 of the Constitution.

It further said that propriety demands that the candidature of the petitioners must be reassessed for appointment with meaningful consideration without fail.

The bench observed that the DRCs concerned must not create any bottleneck in such reassessment for the reason that the SC in its order had unequivocally reaffirmed the quota reserved for such persons was not directory but obligatory in nature and the government was under a legal duty to implement the same in letter and spirit.

It also said, “We deem it appropriate to direct the government of Sindh/ concerned heads of DRCs to complete the requisite exercise of the appointment of petitioners within two months to ensure effective implementation of constitutional and legal obligations. Failure to comply within the stipulated time frame shall entail consequences in terms of Article 204 of the Constitution including exposure to departmental proceedings for non-compliance with judicial orders.”

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2026