Valid 40% UDID disability certificate cannot be overridden for medical admission without better assessment tools, Madras HC rules

The petitioner, a candidate with locomotor disability, possessed a valid UDID Card issued by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities recording her disability at 40%. Relying on the UDID Card, she applied for NEET-UG 2026 counselling under the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) category.

During counselling, she was directed to appear before the Regional Medical Board. The Board assessed her disability at 10%, and, on appeal, the Appellate Disability Assessment Board assessed it at 20%. The petitioner challenged the appellate certificate dated 12.08.2026, contending that the reassessment was inconsistent with her existing 40% UDID certification and had been undertaken without any new or advanced equipment.

The respondents relied on the National Medical Commission’s Guidelines on Assessment of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities and contended that reassessment was permissible where the medical institution possessed better tools, equipment or technology.

Whether the Regional Medical Board and Appellate Disability Assessment Board could reassess the petitioner’s disability percentage despite her valid UDID Card recording 40% locomotor disability?

Whether reassessment resulting in a lower disability percentage was legally sustainable when the Boards had not used tools, equipment or technology superior to those used for issuing the UDID Card?

Whether the petitioner was entitled to participate in NEET-UG 2026 counselling under the PwBD category on the basis of her valid 40% UDID Card?

The Court exercised jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India through the writ remedy sought by the petitioner.

It applied Clause 2 of the Revised Advisory dated 15.10.2025 issued by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, which permits medical institutions, hospitals or boards to undertake an additional or more accurate assessment where they possess better tools, equipment, machines or technology.

It further applied Clauses 9.2 and 9.6 of the National Medical Commission’s Guidelines on Assessment of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities: Clause 9.2 treats a valid UDID Card as the primary documentary evidence of the existence, nature and extent of the specified disability, while Clause 9.6 provides that a candidate should not be denied PwBD consideration solely because of a procedural defect or discrepancy in the UDID Card where the disability is otherwise established in law.

The guidelines had been framed pursuant to the Supreme Court’s directions in Civil Appeal No.10611 of 2024 dated 15.10.2024.

The Court found that the petitioner’s disability had already been assessed at 40% by the competent authority and recorded in a valid UDID Card issued on 22.10.2025. Although the Medical Board and Appellate Board assigned disability percentages of 10% and 20%, respectively, the Court noted the substantial variation in assessment and the absence of any change in the petitioner’s physical condition.

Under Clause 2 of the Revised Advisory, reassessment could be justified only where the assessing institution used better or additional tools, equipment or technology capable of producing a more accurate assessment. Since the fourth respondent had not used any new or superior equipment and had relied on tools comparable to those used for the UDID assessment, the reassessment was inconsistent with the governing advisory. The Court therefore held that the petitioner ought not to have been referred for a fresh determination of disability and that her valid UDID Card could not be disregarded for admission purposes.

The writ petition was disposed of with a direction to the third respondent to permit the petitioner to participate in the subsequent NEET-UG 2026 counselling under the PwBD quota on the basis of her valid UDID Card. The Court also referred to its earlier direction requiring reservation of one seat for the petitioner under the PwBD quota. No order as to costs was made.