New Delhi: A physically challenged student on Monday approached the Delhi High Court accusing the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi of denying him admission on an allegedly discriminatory and arbitrary ground.
A vacation bench of Justice Pratibha Rani issued notice to the IIT, Delhi and sought its response by July 2 on the plea by a Bihar native, who claimed to be suffering from 40 percent disability -- the requisite extent for being eligible for admission on the grounds of disability in the elite engineering college.
Seventeen-year-old Amit Kumar, in his petition filed through his brother Sitesh Kumar, said the IIT rejected his candidature saying he was "merely 24 percent disabled instead of the requisite qualification of 40 percent disability".
"The procedure (of medical test) adopted by the IIT, Delhi is absolutely illegal, unjustified and unwarranted inasmuch as petitioner was already having a valid certificate certifying that the petitioner is suffering from 40 percent disability.
"However, the petitioner underwent the medical test as conducted by the IIT on June 5, 2012 wherein he was verbally informed that he was merely 24 percent disabled instead of the requisite qualification of 40 per cent disability and, therefore, he is disqualified for admission in IIT," the petition said.
Advocates Ashok Agarwal and Anuj Aggarwal, appearing for the minor candidate said he had secured 74 per cent in CBSE examination in the 12th standard and was eligible for admission in the IIT. The candidate had applied for the Joint Entrance Examination, IIT-JEE 2012.
"The action on the part of IIT in rejecting candidature of the petitioner for admission in IIT on the ground that the petitioner does not fulfil the requisite qualification of 40 percent disability is arbitrary, incorrect, discriminatory, unreasonable, unconstitutional and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India," the petition said.
The candidate claimed he was handicapped since birth due to stiffness in knee and hip joints and had also been suffering from multiple exostosis (formation of a new bones on the surface of exisiting ones).
PTI
