Kerala High Court Seeks State's Response On Medical Aspirant's Plea Declared Unfit Due To Locomotor Disability

The Kerala High Court has sought response from State government on the plea moved by a 19-yr-old medical aspirant with locomotor disability, denied admission to pursue MBBS Course.

"It must be borne in mind that, what we are dealing with is the life of a person, whose ambitions will be killed, solely because she is found to be ‘disabled’. It requires empathy and concern before a person can be declared as being 'disabled' and incapable of pursuing medical studies," Justice Devan Ramachandran observed. 

The petitioner claimed to have 45% permanent locomotor disability as originally assessed in 2021. She averred that she had secured 248 marks and Rank 1108, while the cut-off score was only 136 -121. She averred that her disability did not affect her activities, dexterity or sensitivity of her hands in any way. She submitted that the Medical Board for Disability, Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, had illegally treated a fracture of her leg as permanent disability. 

Even so, the petitioner claimed that her disability was only 74%, and persons with disability between 45 to 80% are eligible for reservation provided under persons with disability category. However, the petitioner alleges that the Medical Board for Disability had disqualified her not on the basis of any of the criteria mentioned in the Graduate Medical Education (Amendment) Regulations, 2019, and pegged her disability as 74% without cogent reasons. 

When the matter came up before the Single Judge Bench of Justice Viju Abraham on September 1, 2023, the Court had issued an interim order directing the authorities to proceed with petitioner's admission, if she was otherwise found to be eligible as per the objects and provisions of the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

On Wednesday, Justice Ramachandran noted that as per the Regulations, certain specific criteria had to be verified to assess whether the petitioner was incapable of continuing as a medical student, which did not appear to have been done. 

The Court was of the considered view that the present case ought not to be considered adversarial in nature, and requested the concerned Authorities to aid the petitioner, if they could do so, and thereafter called for the State's response in the matter. 

The Court however, added that until the next posting date, the petitioner could be allowed to continue in the course, subject to further orders. 

The matter has been posted for further hearing on October 11, 2023. 

The present plea has been moved through Advocates P. Haridas, Biju Hariharan, Shijimol M. Mathew, P.C. Shijin, and Roshin Mariam Jacob. 

Case Title: Aiswarya S. v. Union of India & Ors. 

Case Number: WP(C) NO. 29080 OF 2023(I)

Click Here To Read/Download The Order