“I Deserve Dignity, Not Rejection”: A Disabled Woman Challenges SJVN’s Eligibility Clause

Kalpana, a 31-year-old woman from Himachal Pradesh, has spent her life confined to a wheelchair — but not her ambition. Now, she challenges a public sector enterprise for denying her the right to compete on equal terms. Despite an 80 percent physical disability due to Muscular Dystrophy, she fought her way through education, often being carried into classrooms and examination halls. Today, she questions why her hard-earned degree through correspondence is not accepted by a public sector enterprise that reserves posts for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities.

In May 2025, Kalpana applied for the post of Executive Trainee at Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Limited, a Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprise. Out of 114 advertised posts, four were reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities. However, the recruitment notification included an eligibility clause that read: “All Degrees/qualifications must be full-time regular courses except CA/ICWA-CMA qualifications.” (SJVN Recruitment Advt. No. 122/2025, Clause 2.2, sjvnindia.com)

For Kalpana, this clause closed the door before the selection process could even begin. “How could I ever attend a regular college?” she asked in a series of social media posts on July 26, 2025. “I completed my BTech through correspondence, carried upstairs by my father during every exam in buildings with no lift. It took ten years, not due to failure but due to lack of accessibility.”

What is Muscular Dystrophy?

Muscular Dystrophy is a group of inherited disorders that cause progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass, often confining patients to wheelchairs at a young age. While intellectual abilities remain intact, the physical limitations and lack of accessible infrastructure severely restrict opportunities for education and employment. India’s Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, provides for reservation in jobs for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD), defined as those with at least 40% certified disability. But to make this policy effective, eligibility criteria and workplaces must adapt to the realities faced by candidates with severe disabilities, ensuring their right to dignity and equal participation is practical, not just theoretical.

A Childhood of Rejections

Kalpana’s struggle with accessibility began early. When her father sought school admission for her, one principal told him: “Aise baccho ko special school bhejna chahiye” (Such children should be sent to special schools). Her father did not give up until a school in Solan finally admitted her.

Even then, every school day was a challenge. In the early years, a bus conductor carried her into classrooms. Later, friends helped when they could. When no one was available, she had to miss classes.

After completing her 10th grade, she cleared the Polytechnic Admission Test and secured a seat in Computer Science at the Government Polytechnic College for Women, Kandaghat. But the principal bluntly denied her admission despite her test score, citing inaccessibility. She recalls the principal telling her father: “Hum iski koi help nahi karenge” (We will not provide any help). At another point, the same principal suggested amputations so she could wear prosthetic limbs. It was only after her father’s persistence that she was admitted, though hostel accommodation was denied.

What followed was a grueling routine. Her mother carried her up and down staircases between classrooms. In later semesters, her brother, friends, and even a kind pharmacy lecturer helped transport her. The pharmacy department teachers also provided her with a wheelchair. She still remembers a teacher’s remarks: “Isse kuch nahi ho payega, ye pass bhi nahi hogi” (She won’t achieve anything; she won’t even pass).

Despite these odds, she completed her diploma in 2011. She had even been awarded a scholarship in her first year, but never received any funds, and stopped asking because she knew she would not get it anyway. “Being carried everywhere made me feel small and dependent. I did not want to live like that again,” she said. The experience left scars and shaped her decision to pursue her BTech through correspondence.

A Decade-Long Degree

Kalpana enrolled in the AMIE (Associate Member of the Institution of Engineers) program in Computer Science, offered by the Institution of Engineers (India), Kolkata. This program is recognized by the Government of India as equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering.^1 Distance education gave her hope that she could continue learning without the emotional and physical toll of being carried from class to class. But even here, accessibility remained a battle.

Examination centres in Shimla were often located far from the main road, with over 100 steep steps leading up to them. Each time, her father carried her on his back. “The stairs were so steep that it was terrifying, and everyone stared at us. I felt small, like I should not even be there,” she said. “I even thought about giving up the exams altogether.”

She repeatedly requested authorities to conduct exams on the ground floor, but nothing changed. What should have been a three-year degree stretched into almost ten. Not because she lacked ability, but because the system was not designed for students like her.

Her perseverance paid off when she finally completed her degree. But when she applied to SJVN, she discovered that her correspondence qualification was not considered valid under the “regular degree” clause. She wrote to the company in May 2025, explaining her situation, but never received a response.

She applied for the recruitment test anyway. Like all candidates, she automatically received an admit card but was allotted Mohali as her examination centre instead of her first preference, Solan. When she contacted the helpline to ask about both the clause and the centre, staff could not provide answers and told her to raise a ticket online. She did so, but the ticket was closed without resolution. On August 12, 2025, two days before the test, she mailed a letter to SJVN requesting reconsideration and exam centre assistance. As of publication, SJVN has not publicly responded to her appeal or issued any clarification about exceptions for persons with disabilities holding correspondence degrees.

“Reservation on Paper Is Not Inclusion”

Kalpana’s disappointment lies not only in her personal rejection but in what she sees as a systemic issue. “If disabled people cannot meet your inaccessible ‘regular’ criteria, then please do not keep a reservation for us, just for show,” she wrote on social media. “It hurts more to be included on paper and excluded in reality.”

She argues that large organizations like SJVN must review their policies to accommodate correspondence degrees for candidates with severe disabilities. Without such flexibility, the reservation system cannot fulfill its purpose.

A Family’s Relentless Support

Through every stage of her education, Kalpana credits her parents for making the impossible possible. Her father fought institutions that denied her admission, carried her when buildings lacked accessibility, and refused to accept rejection as the final answer. Her mother attended classes with her, waiting outside lecture halls and physically supporting her on staircases.

“My parents became my legs and my wings,” she said. “Whatever I have achieved in my academic journey belongs to them.”

Looking Ahead

For Kalpana, applying to SJVN was not just about employment. It was about dignity, independence, and the right to a future that all young graduates dream of. “Getting a job there would mean dignity and the opportunity to contribute to society,” she said.

She now calls for reforms in public sector recruitment, urging organizations to align their policies with the realities faced by persons with disabilities. Without structural change, she fears that higher education and employment will remain out of reach for many. “I had dreams of pursuing a master’s and even a PhD, but where am I supposed to go? Neither regular colleges, nor correspondence education, nor employment seems to be built for people like me. My disability has not hurt me as much as the inaccessible infrastructure and lack of support from people with power.”

Her message to young persons with disabilities is simple: “Never stop learning. Keep building your skills and dare to dream, even if your journey feels slow. Every step you take is a victory.” Her story is a reminder that inclusion begins not with laws, but with empathy and design that leave no one behind.

References:

1. National Institutes of Health (NIH). “Muscular Dystrophy.” Genetics Home Reference, U.S. National Library of Medicine, reviewed May 2024. https://medlineplus.gov/musculardystrophy.html.

2. Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD). “Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017.” Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. https://disabilityaffairs.gov.in.