A physically challenged girl, who had lost a seat in MBBS course allotted to her under all India quota in a government medical college in the State due to delay of a couple of seconds in submitting the disability certificate online, can now pursue the course as the High Court of Karnataka has asked the authorities to admit her against a vacant seat.
Tazeen Inamdar, a resident of Belagavi, had started attending MBBS classes from March 28, 2022, at Belgaum Institute of Medical Sciences, Belagavi, after completion of admission formalities on March 24 under the quota for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) in the mop-up round.
Later, the nodal officer of the institute told her about cancellation of her seat because of an issue over the disability certificate, and declined her request to give time till March 31, an extended date for admission as she had to bring a fresh disability certificate from the Goa Medical College and Hospital as required by the authorities.
Even though she went to Goa and sent the disability certificate through email and to the nodal officer’s WhatsApp, it was a few seconds past 5 p.m. on March 31, the cut-off time, and hence her seat was allotted to another girl, Ms. Sehaj from Uttar Pradesh, under the same quota.
Justice Krishna S. Dixit, before whom Tazeen’s petition came up for hearing, found that Ms. Sehaj had vacated her seat in the institute and had joined another medical college and hence a seat has remain vacant again.
Victim of circumstances
“At times, life plays trick with persons and they become victims of circumstances, as has happened with the petitioner, a brilliant girl ... No prejudice would be caused to anyone if she is allotted the seat as Ms. Sehaj has already got seat elsewhere,” the court observed.
“Justice of the case warrants, the poor petitioner being accommodated in the vacancy so that she would emerge as a good doctor to serve the society at large, in due course,” the court said while directing the Medical Counselling Committee of the Ministry of Health, Government of India, to accommodate her in the vacant seat, which would otherwise go waste.
