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Orissa High Court Directs Reassessment of NEET Candidate’s Thalassemia Disability Claim
Confirmed
In Short: The Orissa High Court has ordered a fresh assessment of a NEET candidate’s thalassemia disability claim, reversing a previous decision by a medical assessment board.
Orissa High Court has directed a fresh assessment of a NEET candidate’s thalassemia disability claim, reversing a previous decision by a medical assessment board. The court's order, issued on September 10, challenges the board's conclusion that the candidate’s Beta Thalassemia Trait did not qualify as a disability, directing authorities to reassess her percentage of disability. The court's decision highlights the importance of adhering to the legal definition of disability as outlined in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
The court’s order is based on the observation that the medical assessment board’s opinion was overly focused on locomotor disability, despite thalassemia not impacting functional ability. The bench emphasized that once a disease is included within the category of ‘specified disability,’ the assessment should be restricted to that specific condition. The court also referred to a 2019 notification by the board of governors that includes thalassemia among specified disabilities.
The NEET candidate, who had initially sought to avail the disability quota, had submitted a certificate indicating a disability percentage above 40%. However, the medical assessment board concluded that her Beta Thalassemia Trait, an asymptomatic carrier state, did not cause significant functional disability. The court’s decision underscores the need for a more nuanced approach to disability assessment, ensuring that the spirit of the Act is upheld.
The Orissa High Court’s order is part of a broader legal debate on the interpretation of disability under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act. The court’s directive to conduct a fresh assessment is expected to have implications for other similar cases, potentially opening the door for more accurate and inclusive disability certification.
What's confirmed
- Orissa High Court has directed a fresh assessment of a NEET candidate’s thalassemia disability claim, reversing a previous decision by a medical assessment board. The court's order, issued on September 10, challenges the board's conclusion that the candidate’s Beta Thalassemia Trait did not qualify as a disability, directing authorities to reassess her percentage of disability. The court's decision highlights the importance of adhering to the legal definition of disability as outlined in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
- The court’s order is based on the observation that the medical assessment board’s opinion was overly focused on locomotor disability, despite thalassemia not impacting functional ability. The bench emphasized that once a disease is included within the category of ‘specified disability,’ the assessment should be restricted to that specific condition. The court also referred to a 2019 notification by the board of governors that includes thalassemia among specified disabilities.
- The NEET candidate, who had initially sought to avail the disability quota, had submitted a certificate indicating a disability percentage above 40%. However, the medical assessment board concluded that her Beta Thalassemia Trait, an asymptomatic carrier state, did not cause significant functional disability. The court’s decision underscores the need for a more nuanced approach to disability assessment, ensuring that the spirit of the Act is upheld.
- The Orissa High Court’s order is part of a broader legal debate on the interpretation of disability under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act. The court’s directive to conduct a fresh assessment is expected to have implications for other similar cases, potentially opening the door for more accurate and inclusive disability certification.
What's still developing
- The appellate authority then issued a notice holding that she was not eligible to claim benefits under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
- It said this could not be a reason to reject the petitioner’s claim that she falls under the category of the “specified disability”.
- “We, at the cost of repetition, made it clear that once the ‘ Thalassemia ’ is included within the category of ‘specified disability’ and the expression specified disability having used in the definition of a person with benchmark disability and the specified disability having separately and independently defined in the said Act, it should mean and include the disease specified in the schedule,” the court said.
- 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).
- Beta thalassemia is a genetic blood disorder that limits the body’s ability to make a key protein that helps create haemoglobin.
- On August 20, the court permitted her to make a representation to the chairman of the Odisha Joint Entrance Examination, 2026, and directed the authority to take necessary steps.