The Centre on Thursday told Delhi High Court that it had amended the Haj policy and differently abled people were no longer barred from performing the annual pilgrimage.

The submission was made before a bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice I.S. Mehta, which was also told that only those with illnesses like cancer or tuberculosis are barred from the pilgrimage.

Counsel Ajay Digpaul, appearing for the Union minority affairs minister, told the court that the Haj Committee of India had “unanimously decided to allow persons with special needs to apply” for the pilgrimage under the general category.

Digpaul said that on selection, persons with special needs can perform Haj if they can undertake the journey on their own or accompanied by an able-bodied person who will have to be a blood relative and will take responsibility of the differently abled individual during the pilgrimage.

The centre’s lawyer placed before the bench an affidavit giving details of the changes made by the committee in the Haj policy for 2018-22.

The amended policy has made it clear that “physical disability of a person will not be construed as an adverse physical health”. It says that “those with severe medical conditions such as terminal cancers, advanced cardiac, respiratory, liver or kidney diseases, infectious tuberculosis disease or senility” cannot apply for the pilgrimage.

Earlier, the provision had also barred persons with disabilities or special needs.