Today, On 15th October, the Supreme Court ruled that having a benchmark disability alone cannot disqualify a person from pursuing medical education. A candidate can only be barred if the disability assessment board specifically finds them incapable of completing the MBBS course. The decision came from a bench of Justices BR Gavai, Aravind Kumar, and KV Viswanathan, following a petition by a candidate with a 40-45% speech and language disability.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court On Tuesday, October 15, the Supreme Court ruled that the mere presence of a benchmark disability is not sufficient grounds to prevent a person from pursuing medical education. A candidate can only be barred if the disability assessment board specifically reports that the individual is incapable of completing the MBBS course.
The Supreme Court ruled on that individuals with speech and language disabilities exceeding 40% cannot be denied admission to MBBS courses solely based on the percentage of their disability.
A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan stressed that the National Medical Commission (NMC) should not focus on disqualifying candidates.
The Court stated,
“The approach should not be to disqualify candidates. The concept of reasonable accommodation should be applied with a purposive interpretation of NMC guidelines. Reasonable accommodation under 2(y) should not be narrowly limited to those with assistive devices, as it supports the objectives outlined in the Directive Principles of State Policy.”
The Court ruled,
“The mere existence of a benchmark disability does not automatically disqualify a candidate from being eligible for the course. The disability board, when assessing the candidate, must clearly determine whether the disability will impede the candidate’s ability to pursue the course. If the board concludes that the candidate is ineligible, it must provide specific reasons for this decision. Until appellate bodies are established, any negative opinions from the disability assessment boards can be challenged through judicial review. Courts handling such cases should refer the candidate to a premier medical institution for an independent assessment, and relief will be granted or denied based on that institution’s opinion.”
The Supreme Court hearing a special leave petition (SLP) challenging a Bombay High Court decision, which had deferred a plea contesting a regulation that disqualifies individuals with speech and language disabilities exceeding 40% from MBBS admissions. The High Court had postponed the case for three weeks without addressing the petitioner’s request for interim relief regarding his admission under the ‘persons with disability’ category.
In a previous order on September 2, the Supreme Court instructed the Dean of Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Government Medical College, Pune, to establish a medical board to assess whether the petitioner’s speech and language disability would hinder his ability to pursue the MBBS course.
Today, the Court ruled that the petitioner’s 44-45% disability should not be a basis for denying admission, emphasizing that each candidate should be individually assessed. The Court allowed the appeal after the medical board provided a favorable report.
Furthermore, the Court directed that, until an appellate body is established, decisions by disability assessment boards can be appealed before a judicial authority.
The petitioner, Omkar, represented by advocates Pradnya Talekar, Pulkit Agarwal, Ajinkya Sanjay Kale, Madhavi Ayyappan, Vishakha Sanjay Patil, Sudhanshu Kaushesh, Shreyans Raniwala, Avnish Chaturvedi, Vibhu Tandon, Anubhav Lamba, Md Anas Chaudhary, and Manya Pundhir.
The Union government was represented by Additional Solicitor General SD Sanjay, along with advocates Sudhakar Kulwant, Yashraj Bundela, Kartikeya Asthana, and N Visakamurthy.
For the National Medical Commission, Senior Advocate Gaurav Sharma appeared with advocates Prateek Bhatia, Dhawal Mohan, Paranjay Tripathi, and Rajesh Raj.
The State of Maharashtra represented by advocates Shrirang B Varma, Siddharth Dharmadhikari, Aaditya Aniruddha Pande, Bharat Bagla, Sourav Singh, Aditya Krishna, Preet S Phanse, and Adarsh Dubey.