The Delhi High Court scheduled a second hearing for the suit for February 27 and stated that the counter-affidavits must be submitted within four weeks.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has requested a response from the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the Centre on a medical student’s appeal of the Lady Hardinge Medical College’s certificate of disability, which determined that the student was 100% disabled. The petitioner claims that he has a 60% locomotor disability and that a 100% disability rating is unjustifiable, particularly given that the disability board has noted that the petitioner is not using any assistive devices.
Justice Vikas Mahajan sent notifications and requested responses from the National Medical Council (NMC), Lady Hardinge Medical College, National Testing Agency, and Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. The petition was set for further hearing on February 27 after the High Court ordered the rebuttal affidavits to be submitted within four weeks.
Usman, the petitioner, was represented by attorneys Asad Alvi and Sadiya Rohma Khan. He claimed that after taking and passing the NEET UG 2022 exam, he went to the authorised disability assessment board established by the MCC of DGHS for an evaluation in accordance with NMC statutes.
According to the petition, Lady Hardinge Medical College and its affiliated hospitals served as the appointed medical assessment board in this matter, which determined the petitioner’s level of disability to be 100% on October 8. In addition to the disability, the board noted that “the candidate is not using any assistive devices so the functional competency could not be assessed,” according to the statement.
According to the petitioner’s attorney, it is illogical to determine the petitioner to have a 100% disability.
The original unique ID disability certificate that the petitioner was awarded by the State Government of Uttar Pradesh in 2018 “clearly demonstrates a significant 40% margin of disability percentage from the new certificate, which is displayed on this one in a very plain and illustrative manner. Additionally, the certificate itself states that no functional tests were conducted, so the petitioner does not use any assistive equipment that would make him a qualified candidate. “This has completely isolated transparency and scientific and medical reasoning without providing any detailed written medical reasons to declare the petitioner as “Not-eligible” for NEET-UG medical course 2022,” the petition claimed of respondent no. 4 (national medical board) and respondent no. 5 (Lady Hardinge Medical College).
According to the argument, the NEET-UG 2022 information bulletin published by the NTA mandates 5% of seats in each category be reserved for Persons with Disabilities (PwD), and candidates who have at least a 40% impairment, regardless of the type of disability, are eligible for the PwD category’s benefits.