'Colour blindness can hamper police duty'.

LAHORE -- The Lahore High Court (LHC) has observed that colour blindness can be an impediment to the performance of duties in the police; however, it constituted a special medical board to examine a candidate who was denied appointment in the department due to the illness.

Petitioner Basharat Ali, through his counsel, contended that he was medically fit for the posting and did not have colour blindness but the police authorities had not appointed him.

The petitioner filed a contempt petition for non-compliance of order passed by the LHC in a writ petition. He asked the court for penal action against the respondent authorities for non-compliance of the previous order.

The counsel argued that the petitioner was medically fit and did not suffer from colour blindness and to prove it, he had got his test done from the Mian Munshi DHQ Hospital, Lahore, which declared him fit for the posting.

LHC forms medical board for opinion on petitioner desirous of joining police

Justice Jawad Hassan observed that the court had previously ordered the petitioner to appear before the standing medical board of the Services Hospital, Lahore for his test regarding his colour blindness. However; the judge noted that the report submitted by the authority concerned did not reflect the core issue whether the petitioner was colour-blind or not.

In pursuance of another court's direction, Dr Atiq Ahmad, the chief consultant Services Hospital, Lahore appeared and stated that the colour blindness was a permanent deficiency in which a person suffering from it could not distinguish between the shades of green, red and blue colours. The doctor further stated that the colour blindness usually affected both eyes equally and remained stable throughout life; however, the change in colour vision could signify a more serious condition.

A government law officer argued that the Police Rules...