SC directs admission of MBBS candidate with disability in AIIMS, says mindset must change

Reasonable accommodation, enshrined in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, is not a matter of charity but a fundamental right, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said in its order.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said the fundamental rights and the dignity of persons with disability (PwD) and persons with benchmark disability (PwBD) candidates must be protected by ensuring that assessment of their capabilities is individualised, evidence-based, and free from stereotypical assumptions that have no scientific foundation.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed for admission of a Scheduled Caste candidate with PwBD in prestigious AIIMS, New Delhi in coming session for having been "wrongly" denied admission in the previous year.

The court underscored that the constitutional promise of equality is not merely formal but substantive, requiring the State to take affirmative measures to ensure that PwD and PwBD can meaningfully participate in all spheres of life, including professional education.

The bench directed the National Medical Commission to forthwith and not later than within a period of two months and at any cost before the counselling for the 2025-2026 session commence for NEET UG, complete the process of revising the admission guidelines in light of judgments of this court in Om Rathod Vs Director General of Health Sciences (2024) and Anmol Vs Union of India & Ors (2025). The court emphasised this was essential so that no deserving candidate in the PwBD category is denied admission into the MBBS course in spite of his/her/their entitlement.

"We emphasise that reasonable accommodation is not a matter of charity but a fundamental right flowing from Articles 14, 16, and 21 of our Constitution. When administrative authorities create arbitrary barriers that exclude qualified PwBD candidates, they not only violate statutory provisions but also perpetuate the historical injustice and stigmatisation," Justice Mehta wrote in a 20-page judgment.

The court said it must be ensured that systemic discrimination against persons with benchmark disabilities, whether direct or indirect, is eliminated and that the admission process upholds their right to equal opportunity and dignity.

Dealing with a plea by Kabir Paharia, the court directed that he would be allocated a seat in the MBBS UG course 2025 against the Scheduled Castes PwBD quota in the All-India Institute of Medical Science here in the forthcoming session.

Relying upon a medical board's report, the court held the denial of admission to the appellant in the MBBS UG course was grossly illegal, arbitrary and violative of the appellant’s fundamental rights as guaranteed under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.

"We feel that the mindset must change and this trivial aberration, by no stretch of imagination, can be a ground to deny admission to the appellant in the MBBS UG course, when he is otherwise qualified and scored exceeding high rank in the NEET-UG 2024," the bench said.

The medical board stated that the only minor challenge, which the appellant faced during the entire procedure, was putting on the sterilised standard gloves.

"Such action not only reflects institutional bias and systemic discrimination but also undermines the principles of equal opportunity and non-discrimination enshrined in our constitutional framework. The constitutional mandate of substantive equality demands that person with disabilities and PwBD be afforded reasonable accommodations rather than subjected to exclusionary practices based on unfounded presumptions about their capabilities," the bench said.