Institute of Legal and Management Studies

The Supreme Court recently directed the Respondents to keep two seats vacant under the visual disability quota for the first year MBBS course in a plea filed by two students with visual disabilities. The two students, with 40% visual disability in eyes, were disallowed admission in medical colleges in Jammu & Kashmir despite qualifying NEET-UG on grounds that their disabilities are 'temporary' and they don't qualify for reservation under the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) quota.

A bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice KV Viswanathan passed an order in a special leave petition against the order of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, which dismissed the plea of five students for admission under the PwBD quota on the grounds that their disabilities are temporary. Two students with visual disabilities challenged the High Court's order dated December 17, 2024.

Petitioners represented by Advocate on Record Vrinda Bhandari had argued that the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, does not require a disability to be "permanent" to qualify for reservation under the benchmark disability category. The only parameter required is that the disability should only be "long-term" under Section 2(x) of the 2016 Act.

It was also argued that the distinction between permanent and temporary disability is limited only to the validity of a certificate, intended for periodic reassessment, and does not reflect the permanence of the disability.

By an order of July 29, the bench has also directed the petitioners to appear before the Disability Assessment Board on August 1, 11 am, for the purpose of being assessed and to place on record the assessment report on August 8.

Case Details: SAJAD AHMAD MIR & ANR. v.UNION TERRITORY OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR & ORS

Click Here To Read Order

Appearances: For Petitioner(s) : Ms. Vrinda Bhandari, AOR and iProbono team Mr. Pragya Barsaiyan, Adv. Ms. Shrutica Pandey, Adv. Mr. Himanshu Mishra, Adv.

For Respondent(s) : Mr. Pashupathi Nath Razdan, AOR

Ms. Kavya Jhawar, Adv.