Parvathi Singh, who is partially blind, took the Magistrate's Commission to the Pretoria High Court after her application to become a magistrate had been turned down several times.

Singh said she was overlooked because she had a visual impairment, making it impossible for her to get a driver's licence, a requirement for appointment.

She argued that the commission's criteria were unconstitutional because they did not consider people with disabilities.

The high court on Friday ruled in her favour and found that the commission's criteria for short-listing candidates for positions as entry-level magistrates were unfairly discriminatory because they did not consider disabled people.

Singh, 45, has applied for every post available since 2004 but was short-listed for none.

On Friday Judge Aubrey Ledwaba ordered that the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development reconsider Singh's applications "fairly, having regard to her gender and disability, within 30 days" and that it revise the method of short-listing candidates for magistrates' positions.

Ledwaba said Singh's disability had not been appropriately considered.

He said the department must include a section in its application forms inquiring about disabilities - as with gender and race.

The department must also draw up a comprehensive statement of policies and criteria to be used in short-listing, evaluation and appointment for positions as magistrates within 10 months.

Singh has been an acting magistrate in nine courts, on contract, since 2005.

When she asked the commission why she had not been short-listed, she was told that there was an over-representation of female Indians in the magistracy.

Singh said she felt this was a "rigid and inflexible approach by the commission and constituted an impermissible, absolute bar to my appointment".

"I am thrilled about the court's decision because, if I get a permanent job, I will have stability in my life. I will also get all the benefits that permanent magistrates have," she said yesterday.

Pertunia Ratsatsi 

The Times 

Of the 1666 magistrates in South Africa, 16 are disabled. Of these, nine were disabled when they were appointed.