Denied hostel, forced into distance learning: CCPD directs Miranda House to re-admit transgender student in PwBD category

The Court of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) has directed Miranda House, University of Delhi to re-admit a transgender student with a certified intellectual disability who secured an All India Rank of 10 under the persons with benchmark disability (PwBD) category in the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2025.

The student was forced to abandon regular classes after being denied hostel accommodation.

Commissioner S Govindaraj said that the College's conduct amounted to hostile discrimination.

"The principle of reasonable accommodation is a statutory, constitutional, and human rights obligation that should have been proactively extended to a meritorious person with a benchmark disability. A clear case of hostile discrimination is visible by the Respondent's failure to shortlist the Complainant's name for the initial hostel interview list despite her outstanding merit and high score," the June 15 order stated.

The order was passed on a complaint by Anushka Priyadarshini, enrolled in the B.A.LL.B. programme at Miranda House. Anushka holds a unique disability ID (UDID) certificate confirming a 48% intellectual disability and identifies as a transgender and intersex individual with a disorders of sex development (DSD) condition. She had secured an overall CLAT 2025 rank of 2,907 alongside her AIR 10 in the PwBD category.

After being admitted to the programme, she applied for hostel accommodation on the ground that as an outstation student from an economically disadvantaged background, private accommodation in Delhi was unaffordable.

She alleged that her name was excluded from hostel interview shortlists despite 2 reserved PwBD seats and 5 discretionary seats remaining vacant. Left without campus housing, she enrolled in distance learning through Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). Miranda College subsequently used this move to declare Anushka an ex-student and reject her hostel application entirely.

She then filed two complaints before the CCPD against the administration. She also filed a representation before the National Commission for Women (NCW), which was forwarded to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The Ministry wrote to the Chief Secretary of NCT Delhi on June 4 seeking an inquiry and an action taken report within one week.

With the CCPD yet to formally notify its order, Priyadarshini approached the Delhi High Court. On May 18, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav directed the CCPD to deal with her grievance within 6 weeks. This led to the CCPD passing the order dated June 15.

The Commission found that the College's internal policy of sub-categorising disabilities for hostel priority had no statutory basis and violated Section 32 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, which mandates a minimum 5% reservation for all persons with benchmark disabilities.

On the deadline lapse, it observed that Priyadarshini's CLAT scorecard was available within the course admission records and should have been incorporated through internal database mapping rather than penalising her on procedural grounds.

Citing the Supreme Court's decision in Saurav Yadav v State of Uttar Pradesh, the Commissioner emphasized that her overall rank of 2,907 qualified her for open-category consideration, making the filled-quota defence inapplicable.

On gender identity, the Commission held that institutions have no authority to question a student's self-perceived gender identity and that any credential queries must be routed through the University's Equal Opportunity Cell.

Accordingly, the Commissioner issued 13 recommendations to Miranda House to immediately re-admit Priyadarshini to her BA.LL.B. programme without credit penalties, provide her full course of study free of cost and extend a hostel fee concession in line with DU's own Policy for Transgender Students.

The College has been granted 30 days to file an action taken report, failing which the Commission warned of penal proceedings under Sections 89 and 93 of the RPwD Act.

[Read Order]