Delhi HC adjourns hearing on student's plea seeking admission in medical courses under disability category

New Delhi [India], January 6 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing to January 28 on a plea of a medical aspirant challenging a certificate, which bars her from taking admission in medical courses under the disability category.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh posted the matter to January 28 as none of the respondent sides appeared in the matter and the lawyer for the petitioner apprise the court that no reply has been filed by the respondents in the matter.
The Court earlier had issued a notice and directed the Centre and others to file a reply in the matter.
The petition was filed by Baibhavi Sharma, who stated that she falls under the persons with disabilities (PWD) category with a specific disability 'Left Congenital Transverse deficiency of elbow'.
Baibhavi Sharma's lawyers Indrajit Sinha and Mrinal Gopal Elker told the court that the petitioner has been a very good student and has passed the senior school certificate exam in 2020.
The plea stated that as per Medical Council of India gazette notification dated February 5, 2019, and May 14, 2019, for admission to Medical Courses in All India Quota, the petitioner was required to obtain a certificate of disability from the designated Centre.
The petitioner approached Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi to obtain the certificate.
A certificate of Disability was issued by Safdarjung Hospital on November 11, 2020, wherein disability was specified as 'left congenital Transverse deficiency of elbow' with a percentage of 65 per cent, she stated.
"This comes within the range specified in the amended general medical admission regulation of 1997 (As per the regulation the disability has to be within the range of 40-80 per cent). However, the concerned authority in the hospital concluded that petitioner is not eligible for admission in medical/ dental course as per MCI gazette notification subject to being otherwise medically fit due to upper limb Involvement," the plea said.
As a result, the petitioner even after passing the medical entrance test, is not able to get admission in the allotted college, said the plea, adding that the petitioner was informed by the college that she should take the admission by November 16, 2020, after submitting the required documents with the college.
The advocate had urged the court to direct the respondent Lady Hardinge Medical College to further not give admission to any other student on the seat already allotted to the petitioner by provisional allotment letter dated November 6, 2020, during the pendency of the present petition.
It has sought a direction to maintain status-quo pertaining to the seat already allotted to the petitioner in terms of letter i.e. provisional allotment letter round no.-1 dated November 6 during the pendency of the present petition.
The petitioner told the court that General Medical Admission Regulation 1997 was amended on 14 May 2019 whereby amendments in Guidelines regarding admission of students with "specified Disabilities" under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 with respect to admission in MBBS Course were introduced and put in effect. Under that guidelines, under the category of 'Locomotor Disability' (the type of disability), it is envisaged that a person with a specified disability of a minimum range of 40 Percent and a maximum range of 80 percent shall be eligible for the PWD quota in the admission for MBBS course.