Let mentally disabled youth study medicine: SC

KOLKATA: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with a Calcutta High Court order (April 2018), which directed the state government to give admission to a medical aspirant with over 40% mental disability in a state-run medical college.
As a candidate with mental behavioural disability, Tathagata Ghosh had cleared NEET in 2018 and got through NRS Medical College but an adverse medical report later robbed him of the chance.“I am happy the SC has delivered justice to me. But I am apprehensive as I was denied admission last session. I hope I am not denied my right again. I am waiting for the government response,” Tathagata from Howrah’s Bagnan told TOI.
An SC bench of Justice Arun Mishra and Justice M R Shah dismissed the state’s appeal against the HC order, which had asked the state to admit Ghosh to a state-run medical college in the ’19-’20 session and pay him a compensation of Rs 3 lakh. “This judgment has a wide-ranging ramifications on people with disabilities. Under the 21 disabilities listed under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, a person with over 40% mental disability is entitled to admission to medical courses,” said Amiya Maity, a former SSKM academic.
The health department didn’t react immediately. “We have not examined the court order. We will decide shortly,” a senior officer said.
The state had argued the IPGMER report had recommended the petitioner was not eligible to pursue the UG medical course and that he suffered from “delusion of persecutions and auditory hallucination”. The state had said MCI experts had recommended to the Centre that a person with 40% or more disabilities could not be admitted to undergraduate medical course but the Centre had not decided anything.