MBBS Candidate with Cerebral Palsy declared Eligible for Admission under PwD quota, SC grants relief

New Delhi: Providing relief to a candidate suffering from cerebral palsy, the Supreme Court has recently declared him eligible for MBBS admission under the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) quota.

Previously, the board of experts from AIIMS had declared the candidate to be ineligible to pursue the MBBS course. During the hearing of the case on September 22, 2023, the top court bench had issued directions to the Director of AIIMS to ensure a further clarificatory note, based on the evaluation conducted by the concerned Expert Committee which had examined the concerned candidate, the evaluation and the elaborate reasoning was furnished to the Court within a week.

Ruling in favour of the candidate, the Apex Court bench comprising Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Arvind Kumar observed on Tuesday, "The Board had rejected the candidate's claim of being physically handicapped on the basis of absurd and illogical reasons. This Court, vide order dated September 22, 2023, had opined that the expert report was inadequate, and did not provide any reason why the Appellant could not be considered disabled. As per the directions, the Board met again on September 27 and gave reasons and considered them meritorious. The expert opinion has not been disputed by the defendant either. The Appellant is declared eligible – he is treated as disabled and consequently his application should be considered on his merits and processed accordingly."

The Court was considering two pleas filed by candidates who sought admission to the MBBS (2023-2024) course under the disabled quota. However, the Medical Board of Admission did not give permission to him. 

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After his plea was rejected in the Bombay High Court, the petitioner Gaurav approached the Supreme Court bench. While considering the matter, the Supreme Court bench had directed AIIMS to set up an expert board to evaluate the situation of the petitioner. 

Earlier, the Board called a meeting on September 02, 2023, to assess the petitioner's position and later sought a week's time for a comprehensive assessment. The said assessment was done on September 9, 2023.

As per the latest media report by Livelaw, the Supreme Court bench deemed it inadequate holding that the expert board's initial opinion was too esoteric and lacked clear reasoning. The Court expressed dissatisfaction with the Board's report holding that it was unable to provide sufficient grounds to reject the petitioner's claim to be considered disabled.

Responding to the direction issued by the Court, the Expert Board met again and submitted a revised opinion on September 27, 2023. This time, the Board declared the petitioner to be eligible for reservation under the PwD Act 2016.

During the last hearing of the case on September 22, 2023, the bench had directed the respective States to ensure that one seat each was earmarked, kept apart and not filled by any other candidates, not filled from amongst the quota of persons with disabilities, till the next date of hearing.

The Daily adds that the defendant did not dispute the opinion of the expert board. The Apex Court bench declared the petitioner to be eligible for treatment as a disabled person under the PwD Act, 2016. Further, the bench issued directions to the concerned authorities to consider the petitioner's claim in the counselling session and take according action on his application.

In respect of the second petitioner, the bench noted that the report has been received from the board of experts of AIIMS. Taking note of this, the bench directed to give its copies to the parties and listed the matter for further hearing after a week on Monday.

Also Read: SC directs medical board at AIIMS to evaluate MTP post 24 weeks