A division bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to take appropriate decision on calling for a special medical board to assess the disability of special children and issue disability certificates to them immediately.
The directive was passed while disposing of a PIL filed by the Devashrayam Charitable Society, Palakkad, directing the convening of medical boards in all the districts.
The petitioner stated that in view of COVID-19, the District Medical Boards, which assess the disability and issue certificates to these children, were not functioning regularly.
Denied benefits
As such, many of these children were unable to access grants, scholarships, and attendant benefits because of state and central governments. The petitioner stated that the parents of most of the children came from very poor backgrounds. The absence of a disability certificate will also adversely affect the study of children who were entitled to aid in the written examination.
The government submitted that it was decided by the clinical psychologist to call a medical board for the selected children. The District Medical Officers have been instructed to constitute Special Medical Boards and issue certificates to the eligible students as per the right of the disabled at the earliest.
The court also asked the Directorate of Health Services to explore the possibility of fixing a special date for calling a medical board in each district. This should be in addition to the regular exams held every Wednesday in a month.
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