New Delhi, May 23 (PTI): Delhi High Court has ruled that a person suffering from heart ailment is entitled to the benefits offered by the Disabilities Act for the purpose of employment in the public sector.

“There is no reason whatsoever to conclude that a person suffering from heart disease has been specifically kept beyond the amelioration and alleviation of the said statute i.e. the Disabilities Act,” Justice Vikramajit Sen said.

Observing that “disability” has not been defined in Section 2(i) of the act in an inclusive manner, the court said: “The legislature shall expeditiously consider the question and carry out amendments to the act.”

Hearing a petition filed by co-pilot K.B.P. Narain Singh, who was removed from service in 1995 following a heart attack and given a ground job on a lower salary, the court directed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to reinstate him to his earlier pay scale.

Singh had claimed equality before law under Section 14 of the Constitution, citing that his colleague, K.P.S. Nair, with a similar disability, was reinstated to an equivalent post, protecting his emoluments and other benefits.

Directing the AAI to clear his arrears and other benefits from January 2003 within four weeks, the court has asked the authorities to locate promotional avenues for Singh.

It said: “There is no justification to terminate the services of the petitioner especially where the state is the employer; it is obligated to bestow welfare measures in consonance with the law of the land.”