SC orders 4th assessment by newly formed board for disabled candidate in AIIMS

The Supreme Court has ordered a fresh assessment of a candidate with disability, who cleared the MBBS entrance exam , by a newly constituted board at AIIMS Delhi. This will be the fourth assessment of the candidate, who has fought against being labelled as ineligible to pursue MBBS by the three earlier boards.

The court asked for a fresh assessment, keeping in mind its order in two earlier cases where it emphasised functional assessment rather than an assessment of the extent of disability. The court ruled that denying relief to the petitioner would be "totally unjustified" in view of the court ordering admission for MBBS course in two earlier cases where candidates were declared ineligible by the NMC's earlier disability guidelines , which are being revised.

The court has ordered for a fresh board of five experts to be constituted, of which "one member shall be a specialist in locomotor disabilities and one member shall be a neuro-physician", and asked for the assessment to be done within the next seven days. The assessment report is to be forwarded to the court in a sealed cover before April 15.

The counsel for the National Medical Commission submitted that the process for revising the disability guidelines for admission to MBBS course was underway and was expected to be completed before counselling for the 2025-26 academic session. He asked that the matter be deferred till the new guidelines are put in place.

"Merely because the NMC is under the process of revising the guidelines, the petitioner's fate cannot be allowed to hang in a limbo in spite of the fact that he has performed exceedingly well in the NEET (UG) 2024 examination and stood high in the merit in his category," stated the order.

Kabir Paharia had cleared class X with 91.5% and class XII with 90% marks without the help of a scribe to write the exams, and he scored 542 out of 720 in NEET. Kabir'sdisability is described as "congenital absence of multiple fingers in both hands as well as involvement of left foot (2nd and 3rd toe), the extent whereof has been assessed at 42%."

The Safdarjung Hospital board concluded that under the NMC/MCI guidelines, the petitioner was not entitled to pursue medical courses. The NMC guidelines on admission of students with "special disabilities" under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 stipulate: "Both hands intact, with intact sensations, sufficient strength and range of motion are essential to be considered eligible for medical course." Two more medical boards concluded that he was not eligible to pursue medicine.