NIMMI ALPHONSA JOSEPH Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This intra court appeal is directed against the interim order in W.P.(C) No.24864 of 2020 dated 19.11.2020, by which a learned single Judge declined to grant the interim reliefs sought for by the appellant in the writ petition.

(2.) Brief facts leading to the appeal are that appellant/writ petitioner claims to a person with visual disability, having low vision. She applied for admission to the Undergraduate Medical Course (Medical/ Dental/BAMS/BSMS/DHMS/BHMS Course) and came out successfully in the NEET Examination. The overall rank obtained by the appellant is 553689. The category rank of the appellant under OBC is 240758. The Physically Handicapped (PH) category rank number of the appellant is 1226. The writ petition was filed aggrieved by the action of the respondents in not providing admission and reservation for persons with disabilities, such as the appellant and thus, denying equal opportunity to the appellant for the Undergraduate Medical Courses under the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) (NEET), 2020, and Kerala Engineering Architecture Medical (KEAM), 2020.

(3.) Appellant has further stated that as per the Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2016 (RPWD Act, 2016, for short), and the Rights of Persons with Disability Rules, 2017 (RPWD Rules, for short), she is entitled to both admission and reservation in the undergraduate courses. However, as per Appendix H-1 of the Graduate Medical Education Regulations (Amendment), 2019, the appellant is rendered ineligible to be admitted in the undergraduate courses. According to the appellant, the said regulations are violative of the RPWD Act, RPWD Rules and Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India. The interim reliefs sought for, were directions to keep the seat unfilled for the above courses and to direct the authorities concerned to constitute a Medical Board, to examine the appellant. However, vide the impugned interim order, the said reliefs were declined by the learned single Judge, without proper appreciation. Hence, this writ appeal.