MBBS doctor declared ineligible to pursue PG medical course allowed participation in NEET PG counselling, HC seeks responses on PwD guidelines

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has allowed a Divyang female doctor to pursue Post Graduation Medical Course, after receiving the report from AIIMS wherein the Medical Board has stated that the Dr Laxmi would be able to perform the functions expected from a Post Graduate Specialist Doctor.

The bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula in an order passed on September 14 stated that "an expert body has been constituted and they have opined that petitioner "would be able to perform the functions expected from a post-graduate specialist doctor…". In view thereof, since the petitioner fulfils the requirement, she is permitted to participate in counselling for the post-graduate level medical course.

The petitioner, Dr Laxmi, a divyang doctor recently approached Delhi High Court through advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, wherein she has challenged the Disability Certificate of the medical board of VMMC Safdarjung college declaring her unfit to study medical science.

The Bench has also issued notices to Union Social Justice Ministry, Union Health Ministry, National Medical Commission etc and has sought their responses on the issue of the constitution of the high-level Committee to re-evaluate the Guidelines of the National Medical Council (NMC) regarding medical education to divyang students by way of taking into the note of world's best practices on the said issue.

Appearing for the Divyang Doctor, Gaurav Kumar Bansal, Advocate argued that in 2017 the then Medical Council of India (now National Medical Commission) submitted its Expert committee report to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare wherein the NMC stressed the need of periodic re-evaluation of the guidelines related to medical education for divyang students.

Bansal also highlighted that thereafter a Board of Governors in its 13th meeting also discussed the issue related to difficulties faced by Divyang MBBS Students in getting admission in post-graduate medical education and as such took the decision that there is a need for constitution of the committee which should look into the eligibility for the specific PG course that Divyansh doctor could pursue.

Gaurav Kumar Bansal, Advocate appearing for the Divyang Doctor submitted before the Court that many times Divyang Students complaints about the issue of discrimination and bias against them, hence in order to ensure non-discrimination it is important to include the doctors with disabilities in such committee.

In cases of Disability Assessment of Divyang Students NMC must look into the Functional Competency of Divyang Students and the same should be determined by way of providing them assistive devices, instead of solely relying on the percentage of disability of such students, Bansal argued before the Court.

Earlier, the petitioner alleged that VMMC Safdarjung college did not allow her to wear a calliper during assessment and thus determination of functional disability, without the aid of an assistive device, is incorrect.

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