With the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Undergraduates (NEET-UG) counselling for 2025 starting on July 21, thousands of medical aspirants with disabilities face uncertainty due to the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) delay in releasing revised disability admission guidelines, despite Supreme Court orders, reported The New Indian Express on Friday, July 18.

The lack of clarity on disability assessment adds to the students’ distress.

Delayed guidelines are a cause of distress
The Supreme Court directed the NMC to issue revised disability guidelines before the MBBS admission process, but these guidelines have yet to be released.

Dr Satendra Singh, a prominent disability activist, criticised the delay, stating, “The NMC recently issued guidelines on student mental health, but what about the extreme stress, anxiety, and uncertainty faced by approximately 3,673 NEET-qualified candidates with disabilities?”

He added, “The continued delay in issuing revised disability guidelines directly violates at least three Supreme Court judgments. Shouldn’t the Supreme Court initiate contempt proceedings against the NMC and the DGHS (Directorate General of Health Services) for their willful non-compliance?”

Dr Singh, Founder of Doctors with Disabilities: Agents of Change, emphasised that the guidelines should have been released a month earlier to allow stakeholder feedback, saying, “This demonstrates disregard for transparency, public participation, and the rule of law.”

What a student says...
Athul S Anil, an 18-year-old from Kerala with a congenital limb deficiency, shared his experience: “According to Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) guidelines, I will be rejected in the All India counselling also because of my upper limb disability.”

He added, “Most upper limb disability and vision-related cases get rejected. If the NMC had brought out new guidelines, it would have helped my case.” Anil was rejected during state counselling after a preliminary assessment, and now hopes for a chance in the All India Quota (AIQ) counselling.

Previous legal precedents and a hope
According to The New Indian Express, Dr Singh cited the case of Kabir Paharia, who faced rejection last year due to his congenital absence of fingers but won a Supreme Court case to secure admission at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) under the Scheduled Caste - Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (SC-PwBD) category.

He argued that Anil’s admission cannot be rejected, given this precedent. The Supreme Court, on May 16, ordered, “No deserving disabled candidate should be denied admission to undergraduate medical courses.”