Cuttack: Orissa high court has held that authorities cannot reject a candidate’s claim under the disability quota merely by assessing whether thalassemia affects the person’s functional ability. The court said thalassemia has been expressly recognised as a specified disability under Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016.A division bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Chittaranjan Dash on Wednesday (Sept 10) set aside a medical assessment board’s report declaring NEET-2026 candidate Harapriya Das ineligible for a disability certificate. It directed directorate of medical education and training (DMET) to constitute a fresh board and determine her percentage of disability within four days.Das had appeared for NEET-2026 under the persons with benchmark disability (PwD) category on the strength of a certificate issued by a competent authority showing her disability to be above 40%. She was subsequently referred to a medical assessment board, which found that she had β Thalassemia Trait but no significant functional disability.Challenging the decision, she approached the high court. The court had earlier permitted her to approach chairman, Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE), with her grievance. However, the appellate authority rejected her claim on Aug 25, prompting her to return to HC.During the hearing, DMET produced medical assessment board’s Aug 22 report, which stated: “Patient is having β thalassemia trait, which is an asymptomatic carrier state, without any significant functional disability. Thus does not meet the prescribed criteria for certificate of disability.”The bench disagreed with the approach adopted by the board, observing that its opinion was focused on functional or locomotor disability instead of examining whether thalassemia itself qualified as a specified disability under the law.“The Schedule appended to the said Act clearly, explicitly and lucidly includes ‘thalassemia’ as a ‘blood disorder’ coming within the ‘specified disability’,” the HC said.It added: “The moment the Act has categorised several categories of the disability, the authorities cannot bank upon one disability over the other as each disability stands on its own independent footing.”The bench said the Board could not apply the parameters of one category of disability while assessing another. “The moment the statute has included a particular disease as a disability, the assessment by the medical assessment board should be restricted to the same,” the judges observed.Holding that the board’s report ran counter to the spirit and provisions of RPwD Act, the court set it aside. It also quashed the Aug 25 notice rejecting Das’ claim.With NEET counselling underway, the court said any delay could affect the petitioner’s rights and ordered the fresh assessment to be completed within four days.