Summary
A Scheduled Caste candidate with benchmark disability (congenital absence of several fingers and toes) who ranked 176 in the SC-PwBD category in NEET-UG 2024 was declared ineligible for MBBS under NMC norms by successive medical boards, and the High Court upheld that. After a fresh AIIMS board, constituted on the Supreme Court's direction, found he performed all clinical skills satisfactorily except a minor difficulty in donning gloves, the Court held the denial of admission grossly illegal, arbitrary and violative of Articles 14 and 16, directed his admission at AIIMS in the 2025-26 session without re-taking NEET, and ordered the NMC to revise its guidelines within two months.
Issues
- Whether a PwBD candidate who is high in merit can be denied MBBS admission on the basis of a medical board's quantification of disability without an individualised, evidence-based functional assessment and consideration of reasonable accommodation.
- Whether relief should be deferred because the National Medical Commission is in the process of revising its disability guidelines pursuant to Om Rathod and Anmol.
- What relief follows where a lower-ranked candidate was admitted against the SC-PwBD seat to which the appellant had a valid claim.
Provisions considered
- Articles 14, 16 and 21, Constitution of IndiaDenial of admission despite a successful functional assessment was held grossly illegal, arbitrary and violative of the appellant's fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 16, reflecting institutional bias and systemic discrimination. Substantive equality requires that PwD and PwBD candidates be afforded reasonable accommodation, which the Court described as a fundamental right flowing from Articles 14, 16 and 21 and not a matter of charity. (¶¶ 9, 15)
- Reasonable accommodation and assistive devices, Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016The appellant argued that neither the medical boards nor the High Court considered the concepts of assistive devices and reasonable accommodation under the Act, as recognised in Om Rathod and Anmol. The Court directed that the fresh assessment be made with due deference to those judgments and that the NMC revise its guidelines in their light so that no deserving PwBD candidate is excluded. (¶¶ 4, 14, 15)
Held
- The pendency of the NMC's exercise to revise its disability guidelines in line with Om Rathod and Anmol is no ground to defer or deny relief to a candidate who has performed exceedingly well in NEET-UG and stands high in merit in his category; his fate cannot be left in limbo. (¶¶ 4, 18, 19)
- Where a fresh medical board finds that the candidate satisfactorily performed chest compressions, intravenous cannulation, laryngoscope assembly, intubation and suturing, with functional adaptation of his existing digits, a minor difficulty in putting on standard sterilised gloves is a trivial aberration that cannot by any stretch justify denying admission to the MBBS course; the mindset must change. (¶¶ 5, 6, 7)
- Denial of admission to a qualified PwBD candidate on the basis of unfounded presumptions about his capabilities is grossly illegal, arbitrary and violative of Articles 14 and 16. Reasonable accommodation is a fundamental right flowing from Articles 14, 16 and 21; assessment of PwD and PwBD candidates must be individualised, evidence-based and free from stereotypical assumptions lacking scientific foundation. (¶¶ 9, 15)
- Where a candidate ranked well below the appellant was admitted against the SC-PwBD seat at AIIMS, New Delhi to which the appellant had a valid claim, and the current session has progressed too far, the appellant is to be allotted that seat in the forthcoming session without being required to re-appear in NEET-UG 2025. (¶¶ 8, 11, 12, 13)
- The National Medical Commission must complete the revision of its guidelines in light of Om Rathod and Anmol within two months and in any event before counselling for the 2025-26 session begins, so that systemic discrimination, direct or indirect, against PwBD candidates in MBBS admissions is eliminated. (¶ 14)
Result
Appeal allowed; High Court order dated 12.11.2024 in LPA No. 967 of 2024 set aside; appellant to be allotted an MBBS UG seat for 2025 against the SC-PwBD quota at AIIMS, New Delhi in the forthcoming session without re-taking NEET-UG 2025; NMC to revise its guidelines within two months and before counselling for 2025-26 commences; no order as to costs; pending applications disposed of.