The
Bombay high court has directed the state directorate of medical
education and research (DMER) to consider a physically disabled student
from Solapur eligible for admission to the first-year MBBS course.
In an eight-page order passed recently, the high court division bench
of chief justice Mohit Shah and justice M S Sanklecha overruled the
state's submission that Rajdeep R Deshmukh from Barshi in Solapur
district, was not eligible to study MBBS course because of his
disability in upper limb. The court relied on the report of a special
medical board that examined the extent of Rajdeep's functional ability
as well as on the expert opinion by a neurologist, who was part of the
board.
The court also reaffirmed the position, taken by it as well as the
Delhi and the Madras high courts in the rulings in earlier cases
involving issues similar to those raised by the petitioner, that there
can not be any absolute embargo upon the admission to students having
disabilities of the upper limb.
Rajdeep, who suffers from 'Phocomelia', a rare congenital disorder involving malformation of the limbs, had cleared the Maharashtra state board's higher secondary certificate (HSC) 2013 examination from Pune division with 78.50% in science stream and also cleared the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Undergraduates (NEET-UG) held in May this year.
Rajdeep's father, Ramesh Deshmukh, told TOI on Monday, "My son was ranked 6th in the state among physically handicapped students in the provisional merit list for NEET-UG which was released by the DMER. However, on August 1, the DMER released a list of students, who had filled their preference form for the person with disability (PWD) quota, showing Rajdeep as not eligible for the quota and his medical fitness status as unfit. The DMER cited disability of upper limb as the reason for declaring Rajdeep unfit."
Rajdeep moved the Bombay high court against the DMER's decision by filing a writ petition through his counsel Pooja Thorat. Apart from the state of Maharashtra, the DMER and the Medical Council of India (MCI) were listed among the respondents in the matter. On August 29, the high court had directed the DMER to get Rajdeep's disability assessed by a special medical board at the J J Hospital in Mumbai in the context of his functional ability to study and practice medicine.
The special medical board examined the petitioner on September 3 and submitted its report, citing some limitations to Rajdeep's ability to perform basic practical examinations and to perform various procedures on patients because of a compromised hook, pinch and grasp of both hands. The counsel for MCI relied on this report and submitted that as per the MCI guidelines of July 5, 2011, the petitioner was not eligible for admission to MBBS course due to disability of upper limb.
Meanwhile, at the request of the court, Kamlesh A Jagiasi, assistant professor, department of neurology at Grant medical college and J J Hospital, gave his opinion to the court that Rajdeep is capable of studying MBBS course. "On account of the amputation of right index and middle finger, deformity of right thumb and congenital amputation of left hand index and middle finger, the petitioner's physical ability is partially affected, but it does not prevent the petitioner from handling syringe, holding scissors and preparing slides for haemotological tests," Jagiasi told the court.
Jagiasi submitted that the petitioner is physically fit to study MBBS and also practice as a general physician, but the petitioner may not be in a position to study a postgraduate (PG) course in the surgical branch as it requires greater dexterity and flexibility of hands than that required by a general practitioner or a PG in non-surgical stream of medicine.
Rajdeep, who suffers from 'Phocomelia', a rare congenital disorder involving malformation of the limbs, had cleared the Maharashtra state board's higher secondary certificate (HSC) 2013 examination from Pune division with 78.50% in science stream and also cleared the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Undergraduates (NEET-UG) held in May this year.
Rajdeep's father, Ramesh Deshmukh, told TOI on Monday, "My son was ranked 6th in the state among physically handicapped students in the provisional merit list for NEET-UG which was released by the DMER. However, on August 1, the DMER released a list of students, who had filled their preference form for the person with disability (PWD) quota, showing Rajdeep as not eligible for the quota and his medical fitness status as unfit. The DMER cited disability of upper limb as the reason for declaring Rajdeep unfit."
Rajdeep moved the Bombay high court against the DMER's decision by filing a writ petition through his counsel Pooja Thorat. Apart from the state of Maharashtra, the DMER and the Medical Council of India (MCI) were listed among the respondents in the matter. On August 29, the high court had directed the DMER to get Rajdeep's disability assessed by a special medical board at the J J Hospital in Mumbai in the context of his functional ability to study and practice medicine.
The special medical board examined the petitioner on September 3 and submitted its report, citing some limitations to Rajdeep's ability to perform basic practical examinations and to perform various procedures on patients because of a compromised hook, pinch and grasp of both hands. The counsel for MCI relied on this report and submitted that as per the MCI guidelines of July 5, 2011, the petitioner was not eligible for admission to MBBS course due to disability of upper limb.
Meanwhile, at the request of the court, Kamlesh A Jagiasi, assistant professor, department of neurology at Grant medical college and J J Hospital, gave his opinion to the court that Rajdeep is capable of studying MBBS course. "On account of the amputation of right index and middle finger, deformity of right thumb and congenital amputation of left hand index and middle finger, the petitioner's physical ability is partially affected, but it does not prevent the petitioner from handling syringe, holding scissors and preparing slides for haemotological tests," Jagiasi told the court.
Jagiasi submitted that the petitioner is physically fit to study MBBS and also practice as a general physician, but the petitioner may not be in a position to study a postgraduate (PG) course in the surgical branch as it requires greater dexterity and flexibility of hands than that required by a general practitioner or a PG in non-surgical stream of medicine.
Source : TOI , 10th September 2013
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