The Delhi High Court has determined that a valid Unique Disability ID (UDID) card is the primary document for assessing a candidate’s eligibility under the Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD) category in NEET-UG admissions. This ruling highlights that Medical Assessment Boards are not authorised to alter or reassess the percentage of disability as recorded on the UDID card.

This decision emerged from two petitions filed by candidates who participated in the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, which was necessitated by allegations of a paper leak affecting the earlier exam conducted on May 3. Following this, the National Testing Agency (NTA) organised a re-examination on June 21. The court’s judgment provides crucial clarity on how disability benefits are to be administered.

Details of Petitioner Cases

The first petition was put forward by Shivam Kumar, an 18-year-old candidate with a permanent visual disability, represented by advocate Arpit Bhargava and a team including Sarthak Sharma, Hina Bhargava, and Astha Sharma. Shivam’s UDID card recorded a 60 per cent permanent disability, and his examination included compensatory time due to blindness. Despite achieving a score of 398 out of 720, his disability was reassessed by the Medical Assessment Board at Lady Hardinge Medical College to only 30 per cent.

This reduction in his disability percentage resulted in his classification into the General category, effectively disqualifying him from the PwBD category counselling. Similarly, the second petitioner, Aashiya, documented with a permanent locomotor disability of 61 per cent, faced a reassessment by the Primary Disability Assessment Medical Board. This body determined her disability to be only 16 per cent, again affecting her eligibility for PwBD reservation.

Both candidates contended that the UDID card should serve as the definitive record of their disabilities. They asserted that the Medical Assessment Boards’ role should be limited to evaluating functional competency, not to question the disability percentage as documented in the UDID card.

Legal Interpretation and Guidelines

The High Court further articulated that if authorities dispute the disability percentage recorded in a UDID card, the correct course of action would be to appeal to the certifying authority through established statutory channels. It cannot be abridged by the Medical Assessment Board during the admission process for MBBS courses.

Quoting a relevant Supreme Court judgement, the court emphasised that disability assessments should primarily focus on the functional capabilities of the candidates rather than merely quantifying their disabilities in percentage terms.

In conclusion, the High Court has annulled the previous assessments that had diminished the disability percentages for both petitioners. It has directed the relevant authorities to allow them to take part in the third round of NEET-UG counselling and any subsequent mop-up rounds under the PwBD category, with their disabilities recognised as per their UDID cards.

Long or Short, get news the way you like. No ads. No redirections. Download Newspin and Stay Alert, The CSR Journal Mobile app, for fast, crisp, clean updates!

App Store –  https://apps.apple.com/in/app/newspin/id6746449540 

Google Play Store – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.inventifweb.newspin&pcampaignid=web_share