The Delhi High Court has held that a valid Unique Disability ID (UDID) card takes precedence in determining a candidate’s eligibility under the PwBD category in NEETUG admissions for disability benefits. The High Court ruled that Medical Assessment Boards cannot reduce or reassess the percentage of disability recorded in the card while assessing eligibility for an MBBS course. The ruling came in two petitions concerning candidates who appeared in the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, conducted after the May 3 examination was hit by allegations of a paper leak. The CBI had registered a case into alleged irregularities and circulation of examination material before the May 3 test, following which NTA conducted a reexamination on June 21.
One of the petitions was filed by Shivam Kumar, represented by advocate Arpit Bhargava, along with advocates Sarthak Sharma, Hina Bhargava and Astha Sharma. Shivam Kumar, an 18-yearold candidate with permanent visual disability, possessed a government-issued Disability Certificate and UDID card recording 60 per cent permanent disability. His NEET-UG 2026 admit card recorded his disability as blindness and granted him compensatory time. He appeared in the examination on June 21 and secured 398 out of 720 marks, with a PwBD rank of 409. However, the Medical Assessment Board at Lady Hardinge Medical College assessed his disability at 30 per cent, while noting that his UDID card recorded 60 per cent. Despite the reduction, the Board found him capable of pursuing the MBBS course and stated that he would not pose a threat to patients.
