NEET centres should have sanitary napkins for candidates: Madras High Court

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently held that sanitary products (such as sanitary napkins) should be made available near toilets in National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam centres, so that any girl candidate in need of the same may use them..A Bench of Justice GR Swaminathan added that the National Testing Authority (NTA) should ideally clarify in the exam rules that candidates are not prohibited from wearing menstrual pads while taking the exam.."Every examination centre must have suitable toilet facilities with water amenities. They must keep a minimum number of sanitary products near the toilets so that any girl who has come unprepared may use them. The girl candidates must be allowed the use of rest rooms when required ... In the dress code, it would have been appropriate if the clause specifically permitted wearing of sanitary pads by the girl children" the Court's April 26 order said. .The Court has also suggested that the toilets at the NEET centres be thoroughly inspected beforehand so that girls taking the exam do not have to undergo further frisking before they can use the toilet."The rest rooms can be thoroughly inspected in advance and regularly so that there is virtually no need for frisking the candidates for the second time. This will save the candidates' precious examination time. It is the duty of the authorities to spread awareness so that the candidates are not put to any stress at all," the Court said..The order was passed on a plea filed by a girl-candidate (petitioner) with special needs who had sought the High Court's intervention so that she is allowed to change her diaper during the NEET exam, scheduled on May 5 this year.The petitioner was a 19-year-old medical college aspirant who had suffered a severe accident as a child. The accident resulted in a lack of urine control. Due to her health condition, she required continuous use of diapers which had to be frequently changed. She had earlier written to the medical exam authorities seeking permission to wear a diaper to the exam hall and to change it once or twice during the NEET.However, when the exam authorities did not give any reply, she moved the High Court for relief. .At the outset, the Court observed that the petitioner's concerns cannot be dismissed as unfounded considering the strict dress codes and frisking procedures in place at NEET centres. "NEET is held all over the country every year. We read that the mandatory frisking to which the candidates are subjected to is sometimes taken to absurd limits. In Kerala, once a girl was asked to remove her inner wear. Girls in particular face the brunt," the Court pointed out..The Court also took note of two online reports on the difficulties faced by women candidates in public exams. One report concerned the hurdles faced by women due to a lack of access to menstrual hygiene products during the conduct of the Bar exams for aspiring lawyers in the United States of America (USA).Another report was a personal account by a NEET aspirant in India, who lamented that she was forced to leave the exam hall without writing the test after her periods started mid-exam and since there were no pads available at the exam centre..The Court proceeded to emphasise that the exam authorities should ensure that candidates who have special needs, such as the petitioner, are reasonably accommodated. "I hold that any candidate not necessarily suffering from disability set out in the Schedule to Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016 but otherwise having special requirements or needs by virtue of her/his biological condition is entitled to reasonable accommodation," the Court clarified..The Court added that to deny the petitioner relief would amount to depriving her the opportunity to write NEET. This would violate her fundamental right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution, the Court opined. "She (girl candidate) has to wear diaper always and not just when in the examination hall. She has to frequently change the same. That would necessarily entail visiting the rest room. In other words, she has to take bio-break while writing the examination. If the facilities required by the petitioner are denied, she will not be able to take the examination. That would lead to discrimination that is forbidden by Article 14 of the Constitution of India," the Court's order stated. .The Court eventually allowed the plea, after recording the NTA's assurance that they would issue suitable instructions to the examiner to address the petitioner's concerns. .Advocates J Anandakumar and V Purushothaman Reddy appeared for the petitioner. Advocates Subharanjani Ananth and P Karthick appeared for the NTA..[Read Order]