Order issued to National Medical Commission: HC calls for appellate body to address disability disputes in medical admissions

Two medical students challenged admission denial in the high court over negative disability assessments

The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the National Medical Commission (NMC) to establish an appellate authority to address disputes related to disability certificates in admissions to MD and MS medical courses.

The court’s decision was influenced by a 2024 ruling from the Supreme Court, which highlighted the necessity of an appellate body for resolving such issues. (HT File)

This decision comes after two students approached the court challenging the negative reports from medical boards regarding their disabilities.

The petitioners, Dr Sushank and Dr Chandanpreet Kamboj, had applied for admission to MS general surgery course at Pt BD Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), Rohtak, and the MD radiodiagnosis course at Government Medical College, Patiala, respectively. Both the candidates were denied admission based on negative disability assessments by the designated medical boards.

However, as there was no appellate body to challenge these decisions, the students approached the high court, their lawyer, Siddharth Gupta said

The high court bench, comprising chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sudhir Singh, acknowledged the absence of an appellate authority and decided to intervene. The court directed the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, to form a medical board to reassess the candidates’ disabilities. The PGIMER’s medical board ruled in favour of the students, concluding that their disabilities would not prevent them from pursuing their desired courses.

The high court emphasised that the creation of an appellate authority would prevent similar cases from arising in the future and ensure fairness for medical aspirants with disabilities. The court has now directed the NMC to establish an appellate body to streamline the process and ensure that candidates facing disability-related admission disputes have an appropriate mechanism for resolution.