Supreme Court Directs NMC to Form Panel for Assessing Disability Modes in MBBS Admissions for Mentally Challenged Students.
On May 22, the Supreme Court responded to a plea by Vishal Gupta, an MBBS aspirant, who was denied admission under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act due to his mental disability being assessed at 55 percent. The court ordered the National Medical Commission (NMC) to establish a panel of experts to examine alternative methods of assessing disabilities such as special learning disorder (SLD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for granting quota in MBBS admissions.
The bench, consisting of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, acknowledged the argument presented by lawyer Gaurav Kumar Bansal, representing the MBBS aspirant, that individuals with SLD and ASD should not be denied quota benefits under the statute and treated unfairly.
The court also took note of the NMC's submission that a committee was already reviewing the regulations on graduate medical education, indicating that the matter was in an advanced stage of deliberation and decision-making.
Recognizing the need for expertise in assessing intellectual disabilities like SLD and ASD, the court ordered the NMC to treat the petitioner's grievance as a representation and consider it appropriately within the framework of the regulations on graduate medical education. The court requested to be informed of the decision taken and instructed a status report on the outcome to be filed. The plea by Gupta is scheduled for further hearing on July 17.
Gupta's petition highlighted that despite having a benchmark disability, as defined by the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, he was being discriminated against and denied the opportunity to pursue a medical science course. The plea sought a direction against the Centre and other authorities, including the NMC, to allow Gupta, with a benchmark disability, to pursue the Medical Science Course under the PwD Quota.
Furthermore, the petition requested a writ/order/direction, in the form of a mandamus, against the respondents, particularly the National Medical Commission, to develop modes/methods of disability assessment for MBBS aspirants with mental illnesses, thereby making them eligible for the PwD Quota.
