The Supreme Court has ordered the expert committee of the National Medical Commission (NMC) to review the disabled quota guidelines set for MBBS admission. The apex court has asked the NMC to review its recommendations keeping in mind the Centre's March 2024 notification for assessment of disability. This order of the Supreme Court has come on the petition of a candidate seeking admission in MBBS. This student was denied reservation from the disabled quota due to mental health condition. A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Pankaj Mithal ordered the NMC to file an affidavit in this regard within eight weeks.
The MBBS candidate had filed this petition in the court in the year 2022. According to the news of Times of India, the candidate is suffering from a poor mental condition, the level of which is more than 40 percent on the Indian Disability Assessment Scale (IDEAS). In view of the mental health of the student, on the advice of the Disability Certification Board, he was denied admission in the medical course through disability quota.
In view of this petition, the Supreme Court in May 2023 directed the NMC to constitute an expert panel to examine new methods of assessing disability in students with mental illness, specific learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders for MBBS admission. Following the court's direction, the NMC constituted an expert committee and formulated guidelines for admission of students with specific disabilities under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. According to the report, by September, the NMC informed the apex court that students suffering from mental illnesses would be eligible for undergraduate medical education without any hindrance. According to the NMC report, students with mental illness will not be barred from taking admission in medical courses, provided they have secured the required competitive rank in NEET UG. After this, on March 12 this year, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment issued a notification of detailed guidelines for assessing specific disabilities including mental disability.
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The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, through the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, has issued guidelines for assessing the extent of various specified disabilities in individuals. These disabilities include locomotor disability, visual impairment, chronic neurological disorder and mental illness.
The petitioner seeking admission in MBBS has raised concerns over the rules for assessing disability for persons with intellectual disabilities (Specific Learning Disability – SLD and Autism Spectrum Disorder – ASD). In the petition, the candidate has said that all students should have equal access to medical education, regardless of their disability.
During the hearing, the counsel for the petitioner argued that in many countries of the world, students suffering from mental problems are allowed to take admission in medical education.
