Medical Council of India’s new guidelines on admission of persons with specified disabilities: Unfair, discriminatory and unlawful
The Medical Council of India (MCI)’s recent guidelines on admission of persons with specified disabilities into the medical course under the disability quota has escalated into a huge controversy. Multiple litigations have been initiated against MCI by successful National Eligibility cum Entrance Test candidates with disabilities across the country. In light of our new Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, I argue in this essay that these guidelines are unfair, discriminatory and unlawful. I quote Supreme Court judgments on reasonable accommodation, equality and discrimination and highlight the exclusion of doctors with disabilities in policy making.
Post script: The author-led representation, under the banner “Doctors with Disabilities: Agents of Change”, was taken on record by the Health Ministry. It has been learnt that the Health Ministry has amended certain controversial parts in the MCI guidelines acknowledging said representation in their response to the apex court.
