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Aashiya vs. National Medical Commission through its Secretary & Ors. and connected matters

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2026:DHC:8309Decided 24 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
W.P.(C) 12368/2026, W.P.(C) 12499/2026CNR: DLHC010398242026
Justice Jasmeet Singh

Background

Aashiya, a candidate with a 61% locomotor disability recorded on her government-issued UDID card, cleared NEET (UG) 2026 in the PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) category. A Primary Disability Assessment Medical Board re-quantified her disability at only 16%, and an Appellate Disability Assessment Board confirmed this figure, making her ineligible for the PwBD reservation and causing her to miss the first round of counselling. Her case was heard together with a similarly situated candidate, Shivam Kumar, because the two petitions raised an identical legal question.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that under the applicable National Medical Commission guidelines and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, a candidate's UDID card is the primary evidence of the existence, nature, and extent of disability, and the Medical Assessment Boards' role is confined to assessing "functional competency" (the ability to complete the MBBS course): they have no power to independently re-quantify or reduce the disability percentage recorded on the UDID card. Since both boards had actually found the petitioner functionally capable of pursuing MBBS, yet used their own reduced disability percentage to deny her PwBD reservation, the Court set aside both boards' certificates and directed that she be allowed to participate in the next available round of NEET counselling under the PwBD category, based on her UDID-recorded disability.

Lesson Learnt

Government-issued disability certificates (UDID cards) cannot be second-guessed or reduced by medical boards conducting admission assessments: such boards may only assess whether a candidate can functionally complete a course, not revisit the certified degree of disability itself.

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