The Indian Express ·
NEET candidate’s thalassemia disability claim rejected, Orissa High Court directs to reassess
The petitioner had appeared for NEET as a person with disability and submitted a certificate indicating that her disability was above 40%. She was later referred to a medical board for assessment.
The Orissa High Court recently set aside a medical assessment board report which held that a NEET candidate with ‘Beta Thalassemia Trait’ did not qualify as a person with disability, directing authorities to conduct a fresh assessment of her percentage of disability.
A division bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Chittaranjan Dash passed the order on September 10 while hearing a petition filed by a student who had sought to avail the disability quota in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
“The cumulative effect of the various provisions of the said Act (Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act) and the said Notification having relied upon hereinabove, the report of the Medical Assessment Board that the ‘β Thalassemia Trait’ does not come under the category of the disability and not fit for issuance of any certificate in this regard runs counter to the spirit of the Act,” the order read.