Denying college admission to differently-abled against law, says Madras HC

CHENNAI: Holding that the Union and the State governments acted against the law by rejecting the application of a candidate with 60 per cent physical disability without considering the medical certificate issued by the medical board, who had applied for the course of Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc), the Madras High Court directed the authorities to allot a seat for the candidate.

Justice M Dhandapani dismissed the reasons given by the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University for the rejection of the application and directed to withhold the seat and allot it to the petitioner.

The petition was moved by S Subasri, a physically challenged person who sought the court to direct the respondent to grant her a seat under the special category.

The petitioner submitted the medical certificate issued by the medical board in Villupuram, declaring her a physically disabled person with 60 per cent locomotive issues in lower limbs. She also submitted that persons with 40 to 80 per cent physical disability are entitled to a seat under the special category. She was under the special category and secured 22nd spot in the counselling, she said. As 33 seats were sealed for the special category she hoped to get a seat, however the seat was not allocated to her, said the petitioner.

The university selected 12 candidates under the special category and announced the remaining candidates were non-eligible under the category and declared that the remaining seats would be reverted to the general category.

Aggrieved by this, the petitioner approached the court seeking to secure a seat.

The university submitted that the medical experts deputed by the Director of Medical Education and Research, Chennai, examined the petitioner and found that she has only 25 per cent of disability. As it is less than the prescribed percentage of disability for admission, her name was not considered under a special category, submitted by the university.

The State also submitted that out of the total number of candidates appearing under the special category for the physically challenged, only 12 candidates were found to be eligible by the medical board.

The remaining seats were reverted to the general category to fill the unfilled seats. However, the HC refused to buy the argument and asked the university to allocate a seat to the petitioner.