Bench: Mr. Justice Harpreet Singh Brar
Case Title: Sunil Kumar v. State of Haryana & Ors.,
Case No. CWP-2098-2026
Decision Date: 07 July 2026
Background
In a significant judgment strengthening the employment and healthcare rights of persons with disabilities, the Punjab & Haryana High Court held that a government employee who acquired 100% locomotor disability due to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) cannot be denied statutory protections merely because his treatment was taken in a non-empanelled hospital or because the authorities adopted a narrow understanding of the term "emergency."
The petitioner, an Assistant with the Haryana Board of School Education, developed ALS—a progressive and incurable neurological disorder—during service. After undergoing specialised stem cell therapy in Bengaluru, his claim for medical reimbursement was rejected on the ground that the treatment was not certified as an "emergency." He also sought protection of his employment under Section 20 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, including accommodation on a suitable post or creation of a supernumerary post.
The Court's Findings
The court articulated its decision through several core legal and humanitarian principles:
1. The Right to Life and Self-Preservation (Article 21)
The court emphasized that the preservation of human life is instinctive, sacred, precious, and inviolable. Under Article 21, the State bears a fundamental obligation to ensure timely medical care to those in need. The court ruled that the State cannot reasonably expect citizens to refrain from seeking life-saving or specialized care simply because a hospital is non-empanelled. Denying reimbursement under these circumstances fails the test of fairness and reasonableness, thereby violating fundamental constitutional rights.
2. A Disability-Inclusive Redefinition of "Emergency"
The state had originally denied the petitioner's claim based on an opinion from the Civil Surgeon stating the treatment was not an "Medical Emergency". The court sharply rejected this narrow interpretation, noting that the conventional understanding of an "emergency"—which looks only for immediate crises or imminent death—is inherently "able-bodied centric".
For individuals suffering from progressive, degenerative chronic diseases like Motor Neuron Disease / Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), the court ruled that the definition of an emergency must be wider. It must encompass situations where a delay in medical intervention would result in a rapid, irreversible loss of bodily functions and permanent damage. Seeking immediate, specialized stem cell therapy to halt rapid degeneration meets this inclusive standard of an emergency.
3. Protection for Chronic Diseases
Relying on established judicial precedent (State of Haryana vs. Manoj Jain), the court noted that medical reimbursement claims for recognized chronic diseases cannot be denied solely on technical or bureaucratic grounds. Because the petitioner's condition was categorized as a Chronic Disease by the State Government, the test of essentiality was satisfied. The court affirmed that the petitioner could not be faulted for prioritizing immediate, specialized treatment to safeguard their quality of life over waiting for administrative approvals.
On the employment issue, the Court reaffirmed the mandate of Section 20 of the RPwD Act, 2016, holding that an employee who acquires a disability during service is entitled to be shifted to a suitable post with the same pay and service benefits. If no suitable post is immediately available, the employer must consider the statutory mechanism of a supernumerary post rather than depriving the employee of livelihood or forcing prolonged leave without pay. The Court emphasised that reasonable accommodation must be meaningful and not merely symbolic.
Why This Judgment Matters
This decision is important because it moves disability jurisprudence beyond formal equality and recognises that legal concepts such as "medical emergency" must be interpreted through the lived realities of persons with disabilities. The judgment reinforces that administrative rules governing medical reimbursement and employment cannot be applied mechanically where doing so defeats the objectives of the RPwD Act, 2016 and the constitutional promise of dignity under Article 21.
For government employers across India, the judgment serves as a reminder that the duty to provide reasonable accommodation extends beyond physical accessibility and includes fair decisions relating to medical treatment, continuation of service, and protection of livelihood for employees who acquire disabilities during service.
Read the judgement
Sunil Kumar v. State of Haryana & Ors. CWP-2098-2026 dated 07 July 2026 [PDF 271 KB]