Two colour-blind students get MBBS seats

THE TWO STUDENTS HAD SECURED HIGH MARKS IN THE ENTRANCE CONDUCTED BY THE TRIPURA GOVERNMENT IN 2015 DURING THE PRENEET PERIOD

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has opened the doors for two colour-blind students to pursue MBBS course by ordering the admission of two such candidates, who have scored high marks in the entrance examination, for the next academic year.

Terming its action as that of “transcendental importance of justice”, the apex court said that peculiar facts and circumstances of the case required it to invoke special powers under Article 142 of the Constitution.

The two students had secured high marks in the entrance examination conducted by the Tripura government in 2015 during the PRE-NEET period.

Without any statutory provision barring students from pursuing MBBS course, various col- leges and Medical Council of India (MCI) were arbitrarily denying admissions to candidates suffering from Colour Vision Deficiency (CVD), popularly called colour-blindness.

Both MCI and the Tripura Medical College had initially objected to their admission into MBBS course as the two students suffered from colour-blindness despite having qualified in the entrance.

“Keeping in view the tran- scendental importance of justice which is writ large in this case, we direct that the appellants shall be admitted in the MBBS course in the respondent No 2-College for the academic year 2018-2019...” a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said.

The bench, also comprising Justices Amitava Roy and A M Khanwilkar said, “we may hasten to add that we have used the words ‘transcendental importance of justice’, as it conveys that we are invoking our jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case”.

The apex court had on March 23 constituted an experts committee to ascertain whether colour blindness affected the prospects of students aspiring to become doctors.

In its report, the committee had opined that “Colour Vision Deficiency does not have any embargo of any type whatsoever.

It had also recommended that “testing of Colour Vision Deficiency by Ishihara test be compulsorily incorporated in the format of General Physical Examination of the Student, so that all medical students with suspect colour vision should be aware of severity of their deficiency before entering the medical course, and the kind of problems it may pose in the career they have opted”.

The committee had also said that as per current global practices, there was no policy of regulating entry of medical aspirants to study and practice of the medical profession based on colour vision deficiency.

It has said that CVD nowadays was a common problem and does not significantly impact a person’s ability to become a doctor.