Supreme Court Grants Relief To Medical Student Who Was Denied PG Admission Citing His Disability

The Supreme Court granted relief to a medical student who was denied admission to a Post Graduate Course citing his disability caused due to an accident.

"He met with an accident when he was in his final year M.B.B.S. course and yet he successfully completed the course", the bench comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao and B.R. Gavai observed while allowing the writ petition filed by Chinmoy Parthasarathi Bhattacharya.  

While Bhattacharya was pursuing his M.B.B.S. course from a Medical College in Maharashtra, he suffered a major road accident which caused a "crush injury left upper limb" and thus his left hand was amputated above the elbow. But he completed his M.B.B.S.  course and applied for admission to post graduate medical course. He appeared in NEET-PG Entrance Examination 2021-2022 and secured a score of 290 which made him qualified under the General-Persons with Disability category. He was offered admission at Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi in the All India quota seat reserved for PwD category in the MD (Preventive & Social Medicine)/Community Medicine. But in view of the disability certificate issued by All India Institute of Medical Sciences, he was denied admission.

Before the Apex court, he submitted that he had made a conscious choice of seeking admission to MD (Preventive & Social Medicine)/Community Medicine in view of his disability. In response, the National Medical Commission submitted that he cannot be admitted to the post graduate course, even in MD (Preventive & Social Medicine)/Community Medicine, as the disability might stand in the way of performing his duties as a Doctor.

The bench noticed that MD (Preventive & Social Medicine)/Community Medicine would not involve any interaction between the petitioner and patients. 

"In the peculiar facts of this case, we are of the view that the petitioner is entitled for admission to post graduate course in MD (Preventive & Social Medicine)/Community Medicine for the Academic Year 2021- 2022. This order shall not be treated as a precedent.", the bench said in its order disposing the writ petition.

Case: Chinmoy Parthasarathi Bhattacharya vs Union of India | WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 69/2022