CUTTACK: In a significant verdict, the Orissa High Court has ruled that authorities cannot reject a candidate’s claim under the disability quota merely because thalassemia does not affect the person’s functional ability.
A division bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Chittaranjan Dash has set aside a Medical Assessment Board report that had held an NEET-2026 candidate with Thalassemia Trait ineligible for a disability certificate. The court directed the authorities to conduct a fresh assessment of the candidate’s disability percentage.
The petitioner Harapriya Das had applied for NEET-2026 under the persons with benchmark disability (PwD) category, relying on a certificate issued by a competent authority showing disability of more than 40 per cent. She was subsequently referred to a Medical Assessment Board, which concluded that her condition did not cause any significant functional disability.
After the court initially allowed her to challenge the decision before the appellate authority, the Odisha Joint Entrance Examination authority rejected her claim on August 25. The High Court, however, found that the reasoning behind the rejection was legally unsustainable. The Medical Assessment Board had recorded that the petitioner had Thalassemia Trait, which is an asymptomatic carrier state, without any significant functional disability and therefore did not meet the prescribed criteria for a disability certificate.
The bench said the report had focused on functional or locomotor disability, without properly considering whether thalassemia itself was recognised as a specified disability under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
The court pointed out that the Schedule to the Act expressly includes thalassemia as a blood disorder under specified disabilities. “The moment the Act has categorised several categories of the disability, the authorities cannot bank upon one disability over the other as each disability stands on its own independent footing,” the bench said.
It further observed that once a disease is specifically included in the statute, medical authorities cannot assess it by applying criteria belonging to another category of disability. “The opinion expressed by the Medical Assessment Board was restrictive on the functional disability,” the bench said, adding that it had transgressed the boundaries of the relevant disability category.
The court quashed the August 25 notice rejecting Das’ claim and set aside the Medical Assessment Board’s report. It directed the DMET to constitute a fresh Medical Assessment Board to determine the percentage of disability and decide whether the petitioner meets the eligibility requirements. Since NEET counselling is underway, the exercise was ordered to be completed within four days.
The court clarified that eligibility under the PwD quota would ultimately depend on the prescribed percentage of disability applicable to thalassemia.