Prakriti Maulekhi vs Union Of India And Others
2026 Latest Caselaw 1217 UK

Uttarakhand High Court

Prakriti Maulekhi vs Union Of India And Others on 18 February, 2026

     IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND
                  AT NAINITAL
         HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE SRI MANOJ KUMAR GUPTA
                                 AND
              HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE SUBHASH UPADHYAY

                  SPECIAL APPEAL NO. 368 OF 2023

                        18TH FEBRUARY, 2026

Prakriti Maulekhi                            ......         Appellant

Versus

Union of India and others                    ......         Respondents

Counsel for the appellant     :       Mr. Suman Negi and         Mr.   B.S.
                                      Koranga, learned counsel

Counsel for the respondents   :       Mr. Ketan Joshi, learned counsel for
                                      respondent Nos. 2 and 3

The Court made the following:

ORDER:

1. By order dated 16.05.2025, this Court directed

the respondent School to forthwith grant admission to the

appellant pending final disposal of the appeal. The

respondents subjected the said order to challenge before the

Supreme Court by filing Special Leave Petition (C) No.

25403 of 2025. However, the Supreme Court declined to

interfere with the order of this Court and dismissed the SLP

by order dated 12.09.2025.

2. One of the contentions of learned counsel for the

appellant is that although the medical board and review

medical board have found that there does not appear any

physical inability on part of the appellant to undertake

different activities but in view of the disease being of

congenital nature they have observed that there is likelihood

of the same manifesting itself later on in the life. The

medical board and review medical board were admittedly

headed by only an orthopedic doctor and not by any expert

in the field of congenital abnormalities.

3. Counsel for the parties agree that the Court may

seek opinion of some expert body in this regard.

4. Accordingly, we provide that the Director, All

India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi shall

constitute a medical board headed by an expert in the field

of congenital abnormalities, and another expert from the

department of orthopedic. If he feels that expert from some

other field would also be relevant it shall be open to the

Director, AIIMS to include any such expert in the body of

experts. Learned counsel for the appellant states that the

appellant would appear before the board on any date that is

fixed by this Court and, preferably in this month only, to

which learned counsel for the respondents has no objection.

5. Accordingly, we direct that the medical board

shall be constituted within a week from today. The order

will be communicated to the Director, AIIMS, New Delhi by

the office within 48 hours with request to constitute the

medical board. The appellant will be examined by the

medical board on 10.03.2026.

6. As we are informed that the appellant has already

passed Standard 8th and, even Standard 9th, from a different

school but she is ready to take admission again in Standard

9th and in respect of which even approval of the Sainik

School Cell, Ministry of Defence would not be required,

therefore, we further provide that if in the meantime the

appellant makes any application for admission in Standard

9th along with necessary documents, the respondents in

compliance of the order passed by this Court dated

16.05.2025 would grant admission to the appellant subject

to the final outcome of the instant appeal.

7. The Director, AIIMS, New Delhi is requested to

transmit the report of the experts in a sealed cover to the

Registrar General of this Court within one week from the

date the appellant is examined.

8. List the matter on 17.03.2026.

_______________________ MANOJ KUMAR GUPTA, C.J.

_________________ SUBHASH UPADHYAY, J.

Dt: 18TH FEBRUARY, 2026 Negi