The Supreme Court of India on Monday agreed to take up the case of a physically disabled student who was declared unfit to continue his MBBS studies at a government medical college in Bettiah, Bihar. The student, who suffers from muscular dystrophy affecting his lower limbs, challenged an order from his college which ruled him ineligible to pursue his medical education.
Justices B R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran have issued notices to the college and other relevant parties, including the National Medical Commission (NMC), seeking their responses within two weeks. The court also ordered that the student’s admission should not be disturbed until further notice.
The petitioner, who has a locomotor disability of 58%, argued that his disqualification contradicted the previous assessments and NMC guidelines. According to the petition, filed through advocate Mayank Sapra, the student had already passed two disability assessments confirming his eligibility, with certificates issued on June 24, 2022, and August 31, 2024. Despite these certifications, he was subjected to further reassessments, which he claims have caused him undue hardship and financial burden.
During the court hearing, the counsel for the petitioner emphasized that the student had complied with all relevant NMC norms and had been found eligible to pursue the MBBS course in two separate assessments. The plea highlighted that the petitioner was a successful candidate in the NEET-UG 2024 and had already begun attending classes when, two months into his coursework, an office order demanded that he and three other students undergo fresh disability verification at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) in Patna.
Subsequent to this reassessment, on January 24, the college issued an order declaring him unfit for the medical course. The petition criticized this decision as being communicated without detailed reasoning or supporting medical evidence, leaving the student distressed and confused.
