The Allahabad High Court has ordered Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University, Lucknow (RMLNLU) to admit a student-petitioner diagnosed with "Specific Learning Disability in Writing Only" into the B.A. L.L.B. program for the 2024 batch. The student holds a certificate from the Department of Psychiatry and National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC), AIIMS.

Justice Abdul Moin noted that, at 17 years old, the petitioner was ineligible for a permanent disability certificate under Clause 22.6 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, effective from January 5, 2018. The court stated that the petitioner could apply for a new PWD certificate upon turning 18, which would be valid for life.

The petitioner had applied for the CLAT 2024 under the Persons With Disability quota and participated in the second round of counseling at the Respondent University. The disability certificate, issued by NDDTC, AIIMS, South Delhi, in 2023, confirmed a "Specific Learning Disability in Writing Only" with a disability assessment of over 40%. This certificate is valid until 2026.

The petitioner's application was rejected because the PWD certificate he provided did not meet the university's requirements. Consequently, the petitioner sought intervention from the High Court, requesting admission to the university and the annulment of the third provisional CLAT 2024 list, with a directive to redetermine the list.

The Court observed that Clause 2 of the Schedule of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 provides for intellectual disability which includes “(a) "specific learning disabilities" meaning heterogenous group of conditions wherein there is a deficit in processing language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself as a difficulty to comprehend, speak, read, write, spell or to do mathematical calculations.”

Section 2(r) of the Act defines a “person with benchmark disability” as an individual who has at least 40% of a specified disability. While the term "specified disability" is not defined in measurable terms, it includes individuals whose disability has been quantified by the certifying authority.

Section 16 of the Act mandates that all government and local bodies must ensure that institutions they fund and/or recognize do not discriminate against children with disabilities. These institutions are required to provide inclusive education, ensuring that children with disabilities have equal access to educational opportunities.

The Court determined that the petitioner's disability, as described in his certificate, fell under Clause 2 of the Schedule, read with Section 2(r) and Section 2(zc) of the Act, 2016. It was noted that a permanent PWD certificate could not be issued to him at the age of 17. According to the Court, he would be eligible for a PWD certificate with lifelong validity only after reaching 18 years of age.

“Once the Guidelines to the Act, 2016 themselves do not provide for a permanent disability certificate to be issued for children less than 18 years of age and a permanent certificate can only be issued at the age of 18 years as such, in case the petitioner, who is aged less than 18 years, is not having a permanent disability certificate, consequently the same cannot be held against him in order to deprive him of admission in the respondent No.2 University more particularly when admittedly the petitioner has already secured the admission in the second round of counselling as per his merit under PWD in the respondent No.2 University.”

Consequently, the Court granted the writ petition and ordered RMNLU to admit the petitioner into the B.A. L.L.B. program under the physically handicapped quota.

Case Title: Aakarsh Matta Thru. His Father Manoj Kumar Matta v. Consortium Of National Law Universities, National Law School Of India Uni. Thru. Secy. And Another [WRIT - C No. - 3647 of 2024]