New Delhi: A decision by the Safdarjung Hospital and Vardhaman Mahavir Medical College (VMMC) to deny a doctor the teaching post of senior resident in the department of Physiology, allegedly because of her disabilities, has been challenged by a forum representing doctors with disabilities.

The groups main contention is that no doctor with disability or a disability rights activist was involved in the evaluation process, as has been mandated by the Court of Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD).

In letters sent to the Union health minister Harsh Vardhan, social justice and empowerment minister Thawar Chand Gehlot and CCPD, the group called Doctors With Disabilities: Agents of Change has slammed the approach of the hospital in dealing with the case of Nonita Gangwani, who completed her MBBS and MD in Physiology from Swami Vivekanand Subharti University at Meerut.

Applicant had benchmark disability of 70%

The group said Gangwani is registered with the Delhi Medical Council, is a wheelchair user and has a benchmark disability of 70% because of multiple sclerosis.

Writing on behalf of the group, disability rights activist Satendra Singh has urged the CCPD to consider this representation as a petition under Section 75(1)(b) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPDA), 2016. The Act, he said, was implemented by the Centre on April 19, 2017 to provide equality to PwDs, to ensure that they are not discriminated against and to give effect to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The group also urged the CCPD to inquire into the discrimination against Gangwani and to initiate corrective action in the matter.

Selected after exam, interview

The group pointed out that Gangwani had applied for the post of senior resident in the department of physiology under the general category on a regular basis for a tenure of three years, as per the residency scheme of the government of India.

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After written examination and interview, she was selected for the post of senior resident in general category in the department of physiology on September 5, 2019, it said.

After three months and two assessments by the Multi-Specialty Medical Board, she was declared unfit for the teaching post. No reason was given in the memorandum as to how her disability can affect her job responsibilities of teaching physiology to medical students. She has already completed her MD fulfilling these expectations, it argued.

Gangwani wasquoted by the media as having said that she was already teaching in Subharti Medical College when she applied for the job. After the second medical board assessment, she said she was told to shift to a career in research rather than teaching.

Cerebral palsy case

The group said non-disabled doctors have for long questioned the abilities of doctors with disabilities. In 2008, Syed Bashir-Ud-Din Qadri, a person with cerebral palsy in Jammu and Kashmir, in spite of having stood first in the merit list for a teaching post, was not given an employment letter on the ground of his disability. It was said he cannot hold a piece of chalk, so how will he write on blackboard?. He challenged the decision in the Supreme Court and the apex court in 2010 upheld the rights of the persons with cerebral palsy to employment, the group alleged.

In that case of Qadri, the group noted that the Supreme Court for the first time used the principle of reasonable accommodation.

Likewise, the group pointed out:

This case (of Gangwani) is not one of the normal cases relating to a persons claim for employment. This case involves a beneficial piece of social legislation to enable persons with certain forms of disability to live a life of purpose and human dignity. This is a case which has to be handled with sensitivity and not with bureaucratic apathy, as appears to have been done as far as the appellant is concerned.

Lack of reasonable adjustment

In the case of Gangwani, the group said the same mistake of not understanding that a doctor with disability needs reasonable adjustment to perform on a level playing field was being committed. It said the hospital and medical college must know that accommodations in educational and clinical settings are a right, not a special privilege or special advantage.

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In this regard, it also cited Section 3(5) of the RPDA 2016 which makes this aspect mandatory by laying down that the appropriate government shall take necessary steps to ensure reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities.

Also, it said, Section 3(3) of the same enabling Act notes that no person with disability shall be discriminated on the ground of disability, unless it is shown that the impugned act or omission is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

The group also highlighted that Safdarjung Hospital and VMCC did not involve any doctor with disability or a disability rights activist while taking the decision. It stated that this was in violation of the order the CCPD, sent to all States and Union Territories on July 31, 2012 which highlighted concerns of inadequate appreciation in situations of candidates with disabilities in interview boards for selection to various posts.

The order had clearly spelled out that at least one person-with-disability, who is a member of a public service commission or selection committee should have been on the selection board whenever an appointment was considered.

In view of these violations, the group has urged that the letter rejecting the appointment of Gangwani be withdrawn and her candidature be considered for the post which she had qualified for through merit.

Among the other demands, it also sought implementation of the CCPD on involving doctors with disabilities in selection boards.

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Rights Group Says Hospital Rejected Doctor's Claim to Teaching Post Due to Her Multiple Sclerosis - The Wire