Supreme Court Verdict on Accessibility Guidelines

The Supreme Court in Rajive Raturi v. Union of India (2024) declared Rule 15 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Rules, 2017, inconsistent with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. 

Rule 15's discretionary nature clashed with the Act's mandatory provisions, such as Sections 40, 44, 45, 46, and 89. Consequently, the accessibility guidelines under Rule 15, including those from various ministries, lost statutory authority.

Key Implications of the Judgment

• The Court mandated the government to establish minimum mandatory accessibility requirements within three months.
• Court highlighted the fragmented creation of accessibility guidelines, stressing the need for principle-based frameworks ensuring universality and intersectionality.

Conceptual Clarifications

The judgment distinguished between accessibility and reasonable accommodation:

• Accessibility: A right embedded throughout the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, providing standardized accessibility standards.
• Reasonable Accommodation: Facilitates substantive equality by offering tailored solutions for specific challenges in particular contexts.

Evolving Understanding of Accessibility

Accessibility is dynamic, evolving with technological advances like AI and IoT, requiring ongoing adaptation of digital accessibility tools. The phased realization of accessibility involves setting immediate minimum standards with progressive enhancements.

Global Best Practices

Canada's roadmap to full accessibility by 2040 serves as a model, emphasizing harmonized standards with five-yearly reviews to meet evolving needs.

Addressing Barriers

The RPwD Act recognizes both tangible and intangible barriers, such as attitudinal barriers, necessitating theoretical and practical evolution of accessibility.

Universal Design

Universal design now encompasses all vulnerable groups, not just persons with disabilities, reflecting the environmental, rather than individual, basis of disability.

Role of Social Audits

Section 48 mandates regular social audits of schemes to ensure they are inclusive. However, lack of standardized guidelines leads to inconsistencies and inefficiencies. Standardization is crucial for effective identification of challenges and service enhancement.

Bureaucratic Complexities and Recommendations

Previous guidelines were complex and inconsistent, leading to increased compliance costs and delayed redressal for persons with disabilities. New guidelines should be clear, practical, and overseen by a nodal authority for effective implementation.

Deadline for New Guidelines

The deadline for releasing new guidelines is February, with potential extensions, urging diverse sectors to deliberate on minimum accessibility standards. This not only complies with legislative mandates but also presents market opportunities for inclusive products and services.