The Distributive Dilemma in Indian Disability Law: Understanding the Supreme Court's Decision in

DOI10.1177/2277401720140106
Published date01 August 2014
Date01 August 2014
AuthorSaptarshi Mandal
Subject MatterArticle
THE DISTRIBUTIVE DILEMMA IN INDIAN
DISABILITY LAW: UNDERSTANDING THE
SUPREME COURT'S DECISION IN DEAF
EMPLOYEES WELFARE ASSOCIATION
v. UNION OF INDIA
Saptarshi Mandal*
In Deaf Employees Welfare Association v. Union of India, the
Supreme Court ordered the government to grant travel allowances
to deaf and mute employees at the same rate as is currently given to
those with visual and locomotor impairments. While this appears
as a relatively mundane decision, it implicates basic questions of
distributive justice in a welfare state. Employing the term
"distributive dilemma" to capture the often competing bases for
distribution of state aid, the author examines the Court's approach
to distribution of state resources in the context of disability law. He
argues that though courts in India have decided such distributive
questions in relation to the disabled in the past, Deaf Employees
Welfare Association marks a departure from previous cases
because the Court has, for the first time, approached the question
using the constitutional principles of equality and dignity.
I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 104
II. DISTRIBUTIVE DILEMMA ......................................................................... 104
III. JUDICIAL APPROACHES PRIOR TO DEWA ............................................... 107
IV. THE DEWA JUDGMENT ........................................................................... 110
A. The Equality Argument ....................................................................... 111
B. The Dignity Argument ....................................................................... 112
V. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................113
*Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School.

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