The Bombay High Court on Thursday refused admission to an 18-year-old student belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, for MBBS because he has a 75% locomotor disability, despite him making it to the provisional list.
A Division Bench of Justices Naresh Patil and G.S. Kulkarni was told that Thursday was the last day of the second round of admission to MBBS and there is no third round.
The court however said, “We are not persuaded to discard the expert opinion, much less direct the authorities to grant any relief to the student.”
Kaustub Kadu from Ahmednagar suffers from Phocomelia, a rare congenital disorder involving the malformation of the limbs. A copy of the disability certificate submitted by the district hospital at Ahmednagar certified his bilateral upper limb disability at 75% as permanent and non-progressive.
Mr. Kadu secured 83.60% in his SSC in 2016 and 70.15% in HSC. He also secured 122 out of 720 with 51.19 percentile in the NEET exam within the physical handicap (PH) category with a rank of 724.
The petition says that Mr. Kadu falls within the ambit of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
Mr. Kadu had filled a form with the Director of Medical Education and Research (DMER) for admission under the persons with disability category. On June 26 they published their first provisional merit list on the website with Mr. Kadu’s name in it. But on July 4, in the first merit list by the DMER, they held him ineligible.
Advocate Pooja Thorat appearing for the student said, he has three fingers in the right hand and four fingers in the left which are functional and he is in a position to perform his day to day activities and finds himself in a comfortable position to study for a medical degree.
The court order mentioned the Medical Council of India’s guidelines that read, “Mr. Kadu is not entitled to be considered for admission of MBBS as both of his upper limbs are disabled which dis-entitles him from participating in the examination process.”