In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that the mere presence of a physical disability should not serve as a basis for disqualifying a candidate from pursuing medical education. The Court highlighted numerous individuals who have achieved remarkable accomplishments despite facing disabilities.

The bench, consisting of Justices B.R. Gavai, Aravind Kumar, and K.V. Viswanathan, granted approval for a student with a 40-45% speech and language disability to pursue the MBBS course.

The judgment, authored by Justice Viswanathan, cited several "illustrious sons and daughters of India" who have overcome significant adversities and achieved remarkable successes despite their disabilities.

"Before we part, we will do well to recollect that acclaimed Bharatanatyam dancer Sudha Chandran, Arunima Sinha who conquered Mount Everest, prominent sports personality, H. Boniface Prabhu, entrepreneur Srikanth Bolla and Dr. Satendra Singh, the founder of 'Infinite Ability', are some of the shining daughters and sons from a long and illustrious list of individuals in India who scaled extraordinary heights braving all adversities," Justice Viswanathan wrote.

"The world would have been so much the poorer if Homer, Milton, Mozart, Beethoven, Byron and many more would not have been allowed to realize their full potential. Distinguished Indian Medical Practitioner Dr. Farokh Erach Udwadia in his classic work “The Forgotten Art of Healing and Others Essays' under the Chapter 'Art and Medicine' rightly extolls their extraordinary talent, and of the many more similarly circumstanced," the judgment added.

The Court ruled that a quantified disability alone cannot disqualify a candidate with a benchmark disability from being considered for admission to educational institutions. A candidate will be deemed eligible if the Disability Assessment Board determines that, despite the quantified disability, the individual is capable of pursuing the desired course.

The Disability Assessment Boards responsible for evaluating candidates must clearly indicate whether a candidate's disability will hinder their ability to pursue the course in question. In cases where the Boards determine that a candidate is not eligible to pursue the course, they are required to provide a detailed explanation for their conclusion.

Case Details: Omkar Ramchandra Gond v. Union of India & Ors SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (CIVIL) Diary No(s). 39448/2024