3 Oct 2023 10:57 AM GMT
The Supreme Court today ruled in favor of a candidate with cerebral palsy, declaring him eligible for reservation under the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) Act, 2016 for admission in the MBBS course. The candidate was declared eligible by the expert board of AIIMS constituted pursuant to the directions issued by the Court earlier on 22nd September 2023.
The Court observed, “By cryptic and unreasoned opinion, the board rejected his claim that he should be considered as PwD and thus entitled to reservation. This court by its order dated 22nd September, 2023 was of the opinion that the expert report was insufficient and that it didn't contain any reasons why the appellant could not be considered disabled. Pursuant to the directions, the board again met and furnished reasons on 27th Sep and considered him eligible. The expert opinion has not been disputed by the respondent. The appellant is declared to be entitled to be eligible- treated as PWD and consequently his application has to be considered in such terms, on its merits, and processed accordingly.”
The bench comprising Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Aravind Kumar was dealing with two petitions by candidates seeking MBBS Admissions(2023-24) under the PwD quota. They were not cleared by the Medical Board of Admission. As far as the petitioner named Gaurav is concerned, he had approached the Supreme Court after facing rejection by the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court.
Upon receiving the Special Leave Petition (SLP), the Supreme Court issued a directive to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to establish an expert board to evaluate the petitioner's condition. The board had initially convened on September 2, 2023, to assess the petitioner's condition and subsequently requested a week to provide a comprehensive evaluation, which it did on 9th September, 2023.
However, the initial opinion rendered by the expert board was cryptic and lacked clear reasoning, leading the Supreme Court to deem it insufficient. The court expressed dissatisfaction with the board's report, as it failed to provide adequate grounds for rejecting the petitioner's claim to be considered a person with a disability.
In response to the court's directive, the expert board reconvened and submitted a revised opinion on September 27, 2023. In this opinion, the board declared the petitioner eligible for reservation under the PwD Act, 2016.
The Supreme Court's order from September 22, 2023, had previously directed the concerned states to set aside one seat in ongoing counseling sessions to accommodate the petitioner's potential eligibility. The respondent did not dispute the expert board's opinion.
The Court declared the petitioner eligible to be treated as a person with a disability under the PwD Act, 2016. The court directed the respondent to consider the petitioner's claim during counseling sessions and process his application accordingly
As far as the second petitioner named Bambhaniya Sagar is concerned, the court noted that the report has been received from the board of experts constituted by AIIMS.
The Court directed, “Let the copies be served to parties. List it after a week on Monday.”
Case title: Bambhaniya Sagar Vasharambhai v. Union Of India W.P.(C) No. 856/2023, Gaurav v. Union of India SLP C 18017/2023 [Cases where AIIMS committee had been asked to issue reasons]