The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay an order of the Delhi High Court paving the way for 3 per cent reservation to persons with disabilities under the Disability Act, 1996.The Centre had moved the apex court against the HC directive, which came in response to a petition by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). The HC had directed the Centre to fully comply with the Act by reserving 3 per cent jobs for disabled persons, including 1 per cent for the visually-impaired.

The HC had ordered the Centre to work out backlog vacancies for the disabled on the total cadre strength in different establishments.An apex Bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan too ordered the government to furnish before it data about vacant seats in government posts since 1996. The Centre’s plea was opposed by the NFB and a few other organisations who argued that the government should comply with the High Court order.