Fri Feb 21 17:01:53 UTC 2025: ## Supreme Court Strikes Down NMC’s Ableist MBBS Eligibility Criteria
**New Delhi, February 22, 2025** – The Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark judgment on Friday, deeming the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) eligibility criteria for MBBS admission discriminatory and unconstitutional. The court found the requirement that candidates with disabilities must have “both hands intact, with intact sensation and sufficient strength” to be arbitrary and antithetical to the rights of persons with disabilities.
The ruling stemmed from a case involving a candidate with locomotor and speech disabilities who, despite excelling in the NEET exam, was deemed ineligible by an assessment board and subsequently by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Supreme Court, in a strongly worded judgment, criticized the NMC’s “one-size-fits-all” approach, highlighting that such requirements violate Article 41 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to work and education, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Justice K.V. Viswanathan, authoring the judgment, stated that the NMC’s criteria “reeks of ableism” and undermines the principle of reasonable accommodation. The court emphasized the need for flexibility in assessing individual needs and ordered the NMC to revise its guidelines by March 3rd. The candidate’s admission to Government Medical College, Sirohi, Rajasthan, has been confirmed. This decision marks a significant victory for inclusivity in higher education and medical professions in India.
First Piper 