Denied admission for medical course, another differently-abled teen moves HC

Another differently-abled student moved the high court after the Directorate of Medical Education and Research rejected her admission application for the dental course, saying she was “not eligible for the physically handicapped quota”.

Another differently-abled student moved the high court after the Directorate of Medical Education and Research rejected her admission application for the dental course, saying she was “not eligible for the physically handicapped quota”.

HT Image

This is the third such case this month (see box, HC to their aid), revealing the state

government’s lethargy to set

up proper guidelines for admissions of differently-abled students in professional courses.

In the MHT-CET examination held in June, Ankita Jangam (17), who has disability of the lower limb, stood fourth in the city in the differently-abled category and 26th in the state.

The teenager, who belongs to the Other Backward Class category, had secured 83 per cent in the SSC board exams and 73 per cent in the HSC exams.

Ankita’s father, Avinash, filed the petition on her behalf because she is still a minor.

Ankita’s lawyer, A.K. Gupta, argued that the All India Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Haji Ali, which is a certified institute by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has given a certificate saying Ankita is 55 per cent disabled.

Gupta said there was no proper classification on the percentage of disability beyond which admission cannot be granted to a differently-abled student.

“The DMER does not have proper criteria for rejecting or admitting students,” Gupta added.

A division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice S.C. Dharmadhikari kept the matter for hearing on August 18.