A fully blind woman appeared in person before Kerala High Court and argued her case
Kerala High Court (Photo - DC)
Kochi: A fully blind woman appeared in person before Kerala High Court and argued her case on Wednesday. E.S. Prasanna Kumari of Chottanikkara, 47, moved the court challenging the Kannur University's decision not to appoint her to the post of lecturer in law which was earmarked for the handicapped/visually challenged category.
Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar heard the submissions put forward by Prasanna, a High Court-enrolled lawyer. So far, she had not got a chance to represent a client at the court though she had drafted petitions for many.
The single bench sought the opinion of the university and posted the case to Wednesday next for detailed hearing. The contention of Prasanna was that the university didn't consider her eligibility and instead appointed one Kavitha Balakrishnan.
The university had called applications for the post under the reservation quota for physically handicapped/visually challenged. Prasanna first approached advocate Sangeetha Lakshmana for filing a case, but Sangeetha asked Prasanna to appear in person. “She was thorough not only with the facts of the case but with the legal aspects as well and so I asked her to present the matter herself,” said Sangeetha.
As per the notification, the stipulated age for qualification was 40 years as on January 1, 2008. Pursuant to a memo issued by the Kannur University, she appeared for an interview on October 5, 2010 at the VC’s chamber. During the interview, the board raised an issue regarding her age and she was told that she was permitted to appear for the interview on provisional basis.
The petitioner argued that out of the five candidates, who applied for the handicapped quota, only she was eligible with the National Eligibility Test certificate. However, even one year after the interview, no reply was sent to her. She later filed an RTI application and came to the know that Kavitha Balakrishnan was appointed on December 21, 2011.
( Source : dc )
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