HC seeks Centre, authorities’ views on disability criteria for MBBS admission

HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court sought to know the contentions of the Union government and departments concerned over bringing in a regulation to restrict people with one hand from pursuing MBBS.

In the interim, the division bench of Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice C.V. Bhaskar Reddy allowed the petitioner to take part in the counselling and directed the councils and varsities concerned to register him for the NEET-2022 counselling.

The petitioner, Omer Saleem Ahmed, a Mehdipatnam resident, said he was denied participation in the NEET-2022 counselling because he was differently-abled, as he suffers from a congenital deformity in his left forearm.

Ahmed’s right hand is fully functional and he was certified by the medical board of Gandhi Hospital as suffering from a 65% disability. The NEET disability certification centre quantified his disability at 75%.

Ahmed contended that as per guidelines for locomotor disability, he was eligible for a seat under the PwD quota, as his disability was between 40% and 80%.

Although he fulfils the criteria, the guidelines contain a footnote seeking that both hands must have sufficient strength and range of motion to be considered for medical courses.