HC reprieve for specially abled medical aspirant

Patil had appeared for NEET-UG 2024 as a PwD candidate but was held ineligible to pursue MBBS as per a February 2019 notification

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has come to the rescue of a medical aspirant suffering from multiple disabilities who was denied admission under the persons with disabilities (PwD) quota in Jalna’s Government Medical College.

HC reprieve for specially abled medical aspirant

The division bench of justices AS Chandurkar and MM Sathaye directed the college to create a supernumerary post for the 18-year-old Suyash Patil, a resident of Sangli district, and admit in the 2024-25 MBBS batch.

Patil had appeared for NEET-UG 2024 as a PwD candidate but was held ineligible to pursue MBBS as per a February 2019 notification issued by the National Medical Commission (NMC) as his hearing impairment exceeded 40%. He approached the high court after his representation to the NMC to consider him eligible did not yield any response, and sought a declaration saying he was eligible to pursue MBBS.

Pursuant to the high court order dated September 18, 2024, a three-member panel of doctors at the Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals examined Patil and reiterated that his speech and language impairment was over 40%, rendering him ineligible to pursue the medical course.

On October 17, 2024, the supreme court delivered its verdict in the Omkar Gond case, saying a disabled applicant’s functional ability to pursue a medical course was the most important factor in deciding their eligibility. In light of the apex court verdict, the high court directed the All India Institute of Medical Sciences at Nagpur to assess his functional ability, while the Government Medical College at Jalna was directed to provisionally admit him.

On October 23, 2024, the NEET Disability Certification Medical Board (DCMB), which examined Patil at AIIMS, Nagpur, issued a certificate stating he was eligible to pursue medical education, but was not eligible for admission under the PwD quota.

The division bench of justices AS Chandurkar and MM Sathaye disapproved of the course of action adopted by the expert body and the medical college.

“The only direction issued to the said Board (DCMB) was to assess the petitioner’s functional ability for pursuing the medical course and not to quantify his disability,” said the bench.

Patil’s physical disability had been quantified at 58% on August 6, 2024, and it was not necessary for the board to have quantified his disability again, the court clarified.