Bombay High Court refuses to axe PG medical regulation

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has dismissed a petition seeking the removal of regulation 9 (1) (a) of the Medical Council of India’s postgraduate medical regulations 2000, which disallows any student from continuing postgraduate studies if he suffers from more than 70 per cent disability in the lower body. A clutch of petitions filed by disabled students had challenged the rule on the grounds that modern technology allowed disabled persons to do the same activities as normal people. The high court held that the MCI had framed regulations as it had better knowledge of the issue than the court. The court, however, allowed the students to continue their education as they had invested considerable time in it.  

A division bench of Chief Justice Dr Manjula Chellur and Justice M.S. Sonak was hearing a bunch of writ petitions filed by postgraduate students wherein they had challenged the MCI regulation deeming them ineligible to pursue postgraduate medical education as they had more than 70 per cent disability in their lower body.

While praying for removal of the regulation 9 (1) (a) of the postgraduate medical regulations 2000, counsel for the petitioners, advocate Pooja Thorat, said that the rule was discriminatory and the petitioners were being disadvantaged as a result. “Many disabled persons are able to undertake normal activities using prosthetics and hence the MCI rule is unreasonable and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India and should be struck down,” prayed Ms Thorat.

However, the bench was of the view that the MCI was the competent authority and had better knowledge about the issue than the court hence it could not strike down the regulation.