The Kerala High Court has held that the assessment of the percentage of benchmark disability of a person certified by the authority constituted under the Right of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act cannot be superseded or reviewed by any other authorities.The court made the observation recently while disposing of the writ petitions filed by three differently abled candidates challenging their non-inclusion in the category of disabled candidates for the reserved MBBS seats, on the basis of assessment of their physical disability by the State Medical Board and the State Level Committee constituted by the government. The petitioners contended that they were certified by the competent authorities under the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 as persons with benchmark disability of 40% and above. The court observed that the State government cannot notify an authority to assess the percentage of disability otherwise than contemplated under the RPwD Act. While re-assessing the percentage of disability of the petitioners and finding them not eligible for the PwD quota, the State Medical Board, as well as the State Level Committee, were exceeding their jurisdiction as they were competent to decide only the suitability of the candidates. The court noted that no specific powers were conferred upon them to supersede or review the assessment of the percentage of disability already made by the certifying authorities under the Act.The court directed the Commissioner of Entrance Examinations to re-consider the eligibility of the petitioners on the basis of the certificates issued to them by the ‘certifying authority’ under Section 57 of the RPwD Act and include them in the category of disabled candidates if they satisfy the criteria of benchmark disability as per the Act. Published – September 10, 2024 10:10 pm IST