Summary
Candidates sought MBBS admission for 2019–20 under the disability quota despite adverse medical assessments. The Court applied the notified February 2019 eligibility criteria in force when admission was sought and declined to substitute its assessment for the concurrent expert findings. It dismissed the petitions.
Issues
- Whether the notified disability eligibility criteria applied to admissions for 2019–20 and whether the medical boards’ assessments warranted interference.
Held
- The relevant date was admission after declaration of the NEET result. The February 2019 criteria had been notified before that stage; reliance on the earlier application brochure and the status of draft guidelines in 2018 did not establish an impermissible change during the admission process in these circumstances. (¶¶ 6.1, 7)
- All three medical assessments, including the appellate board and AIIMS, found the petitioners ineligible under the applicable criteria. In the absence of allegations of mala fides, the Court would not sit in appeal over those expert assessments or undertake an independent medical evaluation. (¶ 8)
Result
The writ petitions seeking admission for academic year 2019–20 were dismissed without costs.