Mumbai : The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has called for a re-medical examination of a NEET candidate who was disqualified for MBBS admission as he does not have fingers on his right hand. The petitioner, Ajinkya Budle, who secured the 190th rank in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) 2022 in the persons with disabilities (PwD) category, had approached the court after he was deemed ineligible to pursue the undergraduate medical course by a NEET medical board. The court referred to the NMC guidelines in its order which states that a candidate cannot be eligible to study medicine if their “dominant upper limb” — presumed to be the right hand in most people — doesn’t have a thumb which disallows them from holding an object satisfactorily. Ajinkya’s lawyer, however, has argued that he has a well-developed left hand as his dominant upper limb, and contended that there is no rule that the right hand must be treated as the dominant upper limb for everyone.
Ajinkya’s locomotor disability has been calculated at 60%. This falls within the disability range (40 to 80%) which makes a candidate eligible for both PwD quota and pursuing a medical course. However, he was recently asked by the NMC to appear for disability certificate revalidation. While his disability was calculated as 60% again, on October 4, Ajinkya was issued a certificate of disability by a medical board at Grant Government Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals in Mumbai, declaring him not eligible to pursue the medical course as per NMC norms. The court has asked for the medical exam to be conducted and asked for the report to be submitted before them.