SC: Benchmark disability no bar for admission to medical courses

Mere existence of a benchmark disability of 40 per cent does not bar a candidate from being considered for admission to an educational institution, unless a medical assessment board opines the disability will come in way of pursuing the course, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.

The landmark verdict came from a Bench of Justice BR Gavai, Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice KV Viswanathan which said if the Disability Assessment Boards (DABs) concluded a candidate won’t be able to pursue the course, it should give reasons. Writing the judgment for the Bench, Justice Viswanathan lauded the achievements of persons with disabilities in various fields.

“Before we part, we will do well to recollect that acclaimed Bharatanatyam dancer Sudha Chandran, Arunima Sinha who conquered Mount Everest, prominent sports personality, H Boniface Prabhu, entrepreneur Srikanth Bolla and Dr Satendra Singh, the founder of ‘Infinite Ability’, are some of the shining daughters and sons from a long and illustrious list of individuals in India who scaled extraordinary heights braving all adversities,” Justice Viswanathan wrote.

“We hold that quantified disability per se will not disentitle a candidate with benchmark disability from being considered for admission to educational institutions. The candidate will be eligible, if the Disability Assessment Board opines that notwithstanding the quantified disability the candidate can pursue the course in question,” it said. The Bench gave detailed reasoning in the case of OR Gond, an aspiring medical student who cleared NEET but was declared ineligible as he suffered 45 per cent disability.