SC orders NMC to issue fresh norms to admit PwD students
The judgment by the SC bench came as the court permitted a candidate with muscular dystrophy to participate in the ongoing NEET-UG 2024 counselling.
Discrimination against persons with disabilities strikes a blow to the entire nation and the collective goal of integration and fraternity, the Supreme Court has held in a judgment that ordered the National Medical Commission (NMC) to reform its admission guidelines to ensure greater inclusivity and fair treatment in medical courses.
The ruling, delivered by a bench led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, asserted that denying fair accommodation in educational and professional opportunities for disabled individuals undermines both personal dignity and the country’s collective progress.
The judgment by the bench, also comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, came as the court permitted a candidate with muscular dystrophy to participate in the ongoing NEET-UG 2024 counselling, underscoring that inclusion is essential.
“No nation can truly progress until all her people realise a stake in their collective outcome. In one sense discrimination excludes the aggrieved from the collective imagination of the nation. In another sense the nation is deprived of the expertise and brilliance of those who are discriminated against,” the court said in its recent judgment, released on Tuesday.
Underlining that the exclusion of persons with disabilities from public spaces and professional opportunities breaches the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution, the bench added: “When we allow injustice to occur, we normalise the idea that fundamental rights and freedoms are violable. The inviolability of our collective commitment is weakened.”
Discrimination, the judgment stated, “cracks open a wedge in the fabric of society” by systemically excluding certain individuals from equal participation. Moreover, it called on society and institutions to approach disability not as a monolithic concept but as an “individualistic conception”, where barriers vary according to each person’s specific challenges and needs.
The court recognised reasonable accommodation as a “gateway right” essential for persons with disabilities to realise other rights and freedoms. Denying such accommodation, it maintained, “strikes a fatal blow to their ability to make life choices and pursue opportunities”.
Disapproving of the standard assessment approach for medical aspirants with disabilities, the court noted that existing procedures often focus disproportionately on a candidate’s limitations instead of their potential abilities. Instead, it advocated for an affirmative, supportive framework, asserting that disability assessment boards should ask: “What measures can be taken to ensure that the candidate with disability can start their MBBS course on an equal footing with their prospective classmates?” This shift, the bench stressed, would help assessment bodies approach candidates with fairness and respect, aligning with the values of fraternity and inclusivity embedded in the Constitution.
The Supreme Court issued several key directives aimed at enhancing inclusivity for persons with disabilities in medical education. The NMC will issue fresh guidelines, developed with input from experts in disability or those involved in disability justice, to ensure fair admission to disabled medical aspirants. The bench noted that assessments should avoid rigid benchmarks and instead focus on whether a candidate, with the support of modern tools and accommodations, can pursue medical training effectively. Disability assessment boards must adopt a sensitive approach that centres on the candidate’s abilities rather than limitations, it said.
Additionally, NEET candidates should be provided with accessibility information at institutions to make informed choices. This directive aims to dismantle systemic barriers and foster a health care environment that reflects India’s commitment to inclusivity and diversity.