SC urges corporates to treat inclusion of disabled persons in workforce as a ‘strategic advantage’; uphold human rights as part of CSR

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, called on companies and investors to consider the inclusion of people with disabilities not just as an “adaptation issue” but as a “strategic advantage” that will improve their business performance, resilience and social impact.

The judgment by Bench Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan was the second in as many months in which the Supreme Court has stepped in to emphasize that business companies do not just have a profit-making existence but also have a constitutional duty to contribute to society and the environment.

In December last year, the apex court had interpreted ‘corporate social responsibility’ or CSR to inherently include environmental responsibility, recognizing that the legal entity of a company, as an important organ of society, has a fundamental duty to protect the environment.

On Tuesday, the Bench headed by Justice Pardiwala invoked the Supreme Court’s extraordinary constitutional powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to direct Coal India Limited (CIL) to give Sujata Bora, who has multiple disabilities, an extra job with a separate desk and a specially designed computer in its North Eastern Coal Fields office in Assam.

The Supreme Court cited the ILO Global Business and Disability Network Charter’s call for companies to view the inclusion of disabled populations as a “strategic advantage” to achieve business success while creating equal opportunities for people with disabilities.

After applying as a substitute candidate in the visually impaired (VH) category, Ms. Bora was awarded the position of management trainee in the CIL interview. However, CIL declared him “unfit” when it learned that he was suffering from not only visual impairment but also ‘Residential Partial Hemiparesis’. CIL had argued that multiple disabilities were not contemplated in the notification advertising the post.

“Ms. Bora was rejected through no fault of hers,” Justice Pardiwala told the court.

The judge contacted Ms. Bora, who went online and talked to her about the visually impaired American singer-songwriter and musician Stevie Wonder.

Justice Pardiwala quoted US Supreme Court justice Justice William O. Douglas who said that the right to work does not mean the right to eat alone, but also the right to live with dignity.

The court said that “a lack of physical vision cannot be equated with a lack of vision.” Ms. Bora stood on her own feet and fought bravely for her rights to be a member of mainstream society. Companies’ CSR also includes the recognition of challenging human rights. United Nations instruments recognized rights for indigenous peoples, women, national-ethnic-religious minorities, migrant workers, and persons with disabilities.

Reading the judgment, Justice Pardiwala said that “participation of persons with disabilities is a vital component of the social dimension” in the Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) framework used by companies. In fact, the participation of people with disabilities was considered an important part of the ESG framework. The framework is a set of guidelines that companies use to evaluate, measure, manage and report their performance and impact on environmental, social and governance factors.

“Putting the ‘I’ [inclusion] It was vital within the ESG framework. Justice Pardiwala noted that the inclusion of EB is considered a strategic advantage of sustainability practices for companies and investors.