Supreme Court Directs Admission Of MBBS Aspirant In PwBD Quota In AIIMS
The Supreme Court observed that reasonable accommodation to persons with disabilities is not a matter of charity but a fundamental right flowing from Articles 14, 16, and 21 of our Constitution.
The Court observed thus while directing AIIMS to allocate a seat to a medical aspirant with locomotor disability in the MBBS UG course 2025 against the Scheduled Castes PwBD quota.
The Apex Court also directed the National Medical Commission to complete the process of revising the guidelines in light of judgments of this Court in Om Rathod v. Director General of Health Sciences (2024) and Anmol v. Union of India & Ors. (2025) so that no deserving candidate in the PwBD category is denied admission into the MBBS course despite his/her/their entitlement. This exercise has been ordered to be completed within a period of two months before the counselling for the 2025-2026 session commences.
The Division Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta further held, “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. The fundamental rights and the dignity of PwD and 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”
Factual Background
The appellant, being a person with benchmark disabilities (PwBD), belongs to the reserved category of Scheduled Caste and aspires for admission to the MBBS UG (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) course. His locomotor disability was classified as permanent. Having been denied admission to the MBBS course, despite standing high in merit in his category, i.e., Scheduled Castes-PwBD quota, the appellant approached the Delhi High Court by filing a Writ Petition, which came to be rejected. The Letters Patent Appeal preferred by the appellant also stood rejected by the Division Bench. This impugned order was challenged in the present appeal.
Reasoning
On a perusal of the facts of the case and the review assessment made by a Medical Board, the Bench noted that the appellant successfully demonstrated skilled techniques in the simulation laboratory, including chest compressions, intravenous cannulation, assembly of a laryngoscope, intubation and suturing. The Medical Board, in its report, observed that the appellant demonstrated functional adaptation using his existing digits during these tasks. The only minor challenge which the appellant faced during the entire procedure was putting on the sterilized standard gloves.
“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.
As per the result of NEET-UG 2024, the appellant secured an All-India Rank of 147946. His Scheduled Caste category rank was 7252, and his PwBD category rank was 176. The Court’s attention was brought to the provisional NEET-UG 2024 counselling seat allotment (Round 1), according to which a candidate with Roll No. 14491, who ranked 159816, was allocated a seat at AIIMS, New Delhi under the Scheduled Castes PwBD category. Thus, a candidate who stood much below the appellant in merit had been admitted against the reserved seat at the AIIMS, New Delhi, to which the appellant had a valid claim.
The Bench thus held, “Manifestly, in view of the observations made by us in the order dated 2nd April, 2025 and the consequent successful assessment of the appellant by the Medical Board, AIIMS, New Delhi vide report dated 24th April, 2025, 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 of India. 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 (for short ‘PwD’) and PwBD be afforded reasonable accommodations rather than subjected to exclusionary practices based on unfounded presumptions about their capabilities”, it further added.
The Apex Court thus directed that the appellant be allocated a seat in the MBBS UG course 2025 against the Scheduled Castes PwBD quota in the All-India Institute of Medical Science, New Delhi, in the forthcoming academic session.
Cause Title: Kabir Paharia v. National Medical Commission And Other (Neutral Citation: 2025 INSC 623)
