HC relief to MBBS aspirant with Cerebral Palsy, Authorities told to issue certificate
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court bench recently came to the rescue of an MBBS aspirant suffering from cerebral palsy, who was denied the required certificate for admission to MBBS course.
Even though the disability of the 18-year-old bot was within pre-decided levels i.e. within the 80% disability cap, the state Disability Certification Board had denied him the eligibility certificate, mandatory for pursuing MBBS.
Taking note of the fact that the disability of the concerned candidate had been assessed at 73%, the division bench of Justices A. S. Chandurkar and Anil Pansare has come to his relief. Accepting his application, the HC bench has directed the board for granting him the requisite certificate.
The court mentioned in the order, "Prima facie, the reason mentioned in the certificate of disability issued does not appear to be in consonance with the Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 1997 (amended in 2019)."
Consequently, the student has now been admitted to a state-run MBBS college in Dhule.
As per the latest media report by The Wire, the student always dreamt of becoming a doctor and accordingly cleared the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) with 137 marks. However, the Disability Certification Board at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) denied approval to the candidate despite the fact that his disability was assessed under the permissible 80% disability mark.
Therefore, the student, who always dreamt of studying neurology was suddenly informed that he would not be able to pursue his dream career because of his diability.
Challenging the decision of the Disability Board, the student and his family moved to the HC bench back in November and sought relief. The counsel for the student, Nihalsingh Rathod argued in the court that the Regulations of Graduate Medical Education, 1997 had been amended in 2019 and as per the amendment, a person with a disability assessed below 80% is eligible to seek admission in an MBBS course under this amended rule.
Referring to this, the counsel for the student argued that the Disability Board had denied clearance to the candidate in an arbitrary manner. Finally the HC bench provided relief to the candidate and directed the Disability Board to issue the certificate.
The daily adds that the concerned student Manthan always had to overcome hardships to pursue education. He was denied admission in the local schools of Wani, a small town in the Yavatmal district of the State. Speaking about this, his mother Ashwini told The Wire, "The schools didn't want to take responsibility for a child with a disability."
Only after approaching several government departments, the student got the chance to pursue formal education from Class 4. Again he faced obstacle while trying to get admitted to the MBBS course when the Disability Board denied his application. Speaking about this, the student added, "It was as if the officials couldn't fathom that a boy with disability could enter a medical college."
He mentioned how the rejection from the Board pushed him into the "dark" and added, "I have, all along, dreamt of studying neurology and suddenly I was told I can't because of the physical disability."
Referring to the order of the Court, the counsel for the student mentioned it was not as difficult to convince the court as it was to convince the certification board. Despite the order, the board did not issue the clearance certificate until weeks.
Now, both the parents of the student will move to Dhule to support their child. The student's mother added "We never considered that our child was inadequate. We ensured he gets the best available education and we will continue to do that in the future too."
Welcoming the decision of the court, she further added, "Even if the state failed us, the law had his back. We are just hoping that the court's order proves helpful for more children like Manthan who have dreams."
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