Girl with spina bifida moves court to pursue her dream of medicine and change definition of disability

Time of India

4 days ago

Mumbai: Twenty-year-old Thanekar Maahi Rude always dreamed of becoming a doctor—someone her parents always turned to since she was born with spina bifida, a neurological birth defect.
She underwent five major surgeries before turning 10 for various issues associated with her malformed spinal cord.
Four months ago, she emerged as a poster girl for those living with spina bifida in Mumbai when she moved the Bombay high court to exercise her right to appear for the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) for the undergraduate medical course. "My disability certificate states I have 90% disability while the NEET application only allows those with up to 70% disability to apply," she said.
Soon after she filed the plea, the court passed an interim order allowing her to apply and appear for NEET 2025, held in May.
Her petition focused on the fact that Rude, who uses a wheelchair, is independent. While she cannot move her limbs from the waist down, "her torso, arms, and other body parts above the waist remain unaffected by her disability."
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A third-year student of dietetics, she travels alone from Thane to her college in Ghatkopar.
"I am an ambassador of the Spina Bifida Foundation India, and I presented my own research paper at an international conference in Malaysia in 2024," said Rude, who is a trained Hindustani classical singer and founded the Elixir Band, a music band comprising people with spina bifida.
She gave up on MBBS after trying to apply for NEET after Class 12. "But, a few months ago, I used a stethoscope during a skit and put that picture as the display pic on my mobile," she said.
Paediatric surgeon Dr Santosh Karmarkar, who operated on her ten years ago, saw the picture and called her. "That is when I realised that Rude still wanted to be a doctor. So I decided to consult lawyer Mihir Desai," said Dr Karmakar, who is also the founder of the Spina Bifida Foundation. "We take up cases of human rights violation, hence decided to take up Rude's case," said Desai.
In May, she appeared for NEET but didn't do too well as she didn't have time to prepare.
"I will appear for NEET again," she said.
Her petition—which comes up for hearing on Aug 12 (Tuesday)—has incidentally sought more than just permission for NEET 2025. "It also seeks directions to ensure the authorities don't hinder her admission to a medical course solely due to her disability percentage," said her lawyer Pritha Paul.
More importantly, the petition draws the court's attention to the guidelines included in the Graduate Medical Education Regulations in May 2019 for the admission of students with "specified disabilities".
"We want these guidelines to be set aside and quashed to the extent that it declares persons with locomotor disability with a disability percentage of more than 80% not eligible for medical courses," said Paul.
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