Kerala can declare medical board as certifying authority for disability assessment, says HC

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court has observed that the State government can declare the State Medical Board as a certifying authority for assessing the percentage of benchmark disability of candidates for admission to medical colleges by issuing a notification in this regard under the provisions of the Right of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act.

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court has observed that the State government can declare the State Medical Board as a certifying authority for assessing the percentage of benchmark disability of candidates for admission to medical colleges by issuing a notification in this regard under the provisions of the Right of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act.

The Bench comprising Justice T.R. Ravi and Justice M.B. Snehalatha made the observation while disposing of an appeal filed by the State government against a single judge’s verdict that the government can notify an authority to assess the percentage of disability only as per the RPwD Act.

The single judge had made the observation on a petition filed by three differently abled candidates challenging their non-inclusion in the category of ‘disabled candidates’ for the reserved MBBS seats based on the assessment made by the State Medical Board and a State-level committee constituted by the government. While re-assessing the percentage of disability of the petitioners and finding them not eligible for the PwD quota, the board and the committee were exceeding their jurisdiction, the single judge said.

The Bench said that it did not find any reason to take a different view as regards the law on the point. The 2016 Act specifically provided for certifying persons with physical disability and there is also an appellate remedy for correction of a mistake made by the certifying authority. The person with physical disability itself is defined. The effect of the statute cannot be taken away by certain conditions imposed in the prospectus.

This does not mean that the State is powerless to adopt a uniform procedure when it comes to admissions to professional colleges. It is always open to the government to declare the State Medical Board as the certifying authority for the purpose of admission to medical colleges. All that is required is a proper notification under Section 57 of the RPwD.

Such a process would also ensure uniformity since the same board will be considering the case of all the candidates and the mischief caused by the subjectivity of the decisions by several certifying authorities can also be avoided, the court observed.