Supreme Court Paves Way For Man With Bipolar Disorder To Become Judge

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundresh held that there was no impediment in Bhavya Nain taking charge as a judicial officer in one of the district courts in Delhi.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has upheld a Delhi High Court judgment paving the way for a candidate with bipolar disorder to become a judge in Delhi, a report in Bar and Bench said.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundresh held that there was no impediment in Bhavya Nain taking charge as a judicial officer in one of the district courts in Delhi and discharging his duties as a judge.

The Supreme Court relied upon a report from a medical board, constituted by it, while approving the appointment of Bhavya Nain.

"There is nothing to indicate that he will not be able to discharge his responsibilities to the post of Judicial officer for which he has been selected....," the report by the medical board, constituted by the AIIMS Director, said.

Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings, including emotional highs and lows. 

Bhavya Nain had cleared the Delhi Judicial Services Examination in 2018 under the 'Person with Disabilities' category. However, his candidature was rejected in May 2019 by the Delhi High Court administration as his disability was not considered 'permanent' in nature, the Bar and Bench report said.

The administration argued before the High Court that Nain would not be able to effectively discharge his duties as a judicial officer because of his mental illness. It was also argued that Nain was "under remission" and on medication, and thus his disability could not be construed as long-term in nature.

"Once the disability falls under 40 per cent at some point in future, Nain would not be entitled to the benefit of reservation under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016," the administration told the HC.

However, the Delhi High Court, in May 2020, said the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, included mental illness as a form of disability for which reservation had to be accorded to eligible candidates.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Sanjeev Narula held that Nain was "undisputedly an eligible candidate under the 'mental illness' category" and should be inducted immediately. This judgment was then challenged before the Supreme Court.