In the midst of the dispute surrounding Pooja Khedkar's purported misuse of the disability quota, a case involving a candidate with muscular dystrophy has surfaced. Despite clearing the civil services exam four times, the candidate was unable to become an IAS officer.
We are speaking of Kartik Kansal, an IIT Roorkee mechanical engineering graduate who is currently employed by ISRO as a scientist. He was chosen via All India Central Recruitment for this position. Since he was 14 years old, Kansal has been reliant on a wheelchair due to an illness known as muscular dystrophy. A person with muscular dystrophy is unable to walk, which is a serious issue.
The scientist Consul set a record by passing the UPSC, one of the toughest exams, four times. He was chosen four times to join the civil service. This is no little matter. He received an 813th rank after passing the 2019 UPSC exam. In 2021, he achieved the 271st rank following this. He achieved 784th place in 2022 and 829th place in 2023, respectively.
When he was ranked 271 in 2021, he was eligible for IAS even without the disability quota, as that year's rank holders, 272 and 273, were also eligible for IAS. In actuality, muscular dystrophy was left off of the IAS's functional classification eligibility list in 2021. Kansal was therefore not appointed as an IAS. However, the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Excise) and Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) Group A lists, which were his second and third choices, included muscular dystrophy.
In 2019, Kartik Kansal secured the 813th rank. Then, only 14 of the 15 positions for people with locomotor disabilities were filled, so he could have easily been hired. But it escaped his notice. Only four of the seven positions in the locomotor disability category in 2021 were filled. Despite being the clear winner in the category, Kansal was not given the position.
Kartik Kansal was examined by the AIIMS medical board, which concluded that he has muscular dystrophy affecting both his hands and legs and that he has muscle weakness. This is a little odd since an individual with muscular dystrophy was not deemed eligible for IAS, whereas someone with both hands and legs affected is.
