New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said a
physically challenged person should be treated at par with
SC/ST candidates while granting relaxation in qualifying marks
to them in admission in professional courses.
The Court asked the government to consider the
recommendations of Chief Commissioner for Disabilities who had
directed all government-aided institutions to extend the
relaxation in qualifying marks to physically disabled
candidates in order to bring them at par with SC/ST
candidates.
A bench headed by Justice B D Ahmed, however, refused to
grant any relief to a handicapped student who had sought such
relaxation for getting admission in a medical college on the
ground that there is no such provision in law at present.
"However, the respondents(government and institutions
aided by it) are required to give a serious view to the
recommendation in order to ensure that physically disabled
persons are not deprived of their rights, privileges and
facilities under the law," the court said pointing out that
reserved seats for disabled remain vacant due to not giving
relaxation in qualifying marks.
"In so far as physically disabled persons are concerned,
they have a right to reservation but there is no right to
relaxation or a concession in the minimum standards," it said.
The court passed the order on a petition of Shah Afzal
seeking a direction to the Medical Council of India to treat
physically disabled candidates at par with those of the
SCs/STs with regard to admission in MBBS courses.
The Medical Council of India had contended physically
disabled candidates cannot claim parity with SC/ST candidates
as the two stand on entirely different footings.
-PTI
First Published: Tuesday, July 06, 2010, 19:01