Supreme Court Directs States To Appoint Chief Commissioners, Frame Rules Under Rights Of Persons With Disabilities Act 2016

The Supreme Court on Monday directed all State Governments to comply with the provisions of the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 [“RPwD Act”] expeditiously before September 30, 2023. The bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice Manoj Misra also directed the States to appoint Chief Commissioners for persons with disabilities by August 31, 2023. 

The court was hearing a petition seeking the enforcement of rights of persons with disabilities by implementing the RPwD Act. The petitioner in the case is a member of a group called “Together We Can” which is forum for parents, professionals, and other stakeholders working for rights of children with disabilities. Advocate K. Parameshwar assisted by Akshay Sahay and A. Karthik, AoR appeared for the petitioners in the matter.

In the last hearing, the court had directed the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to file a counter affidavit indicating the state wise implementation of the RPwD Act. It had added–

"Union of India shall convene a meeting with all concerned states and state advisory boards with a view to eliciting the present status of compliance."

At the outset, the petitioner highlighted that as per the affidavit filed by the Ministry, there were States where even the rules had not come into force. To this, CJI DY Chandrachud remarked–

"We can ask all the Chief Commissioners to ensure that the Act is complied with."

The CJI's remark was met with the counsel underlining the dismal condition of implementation of the act. He said–

"Those chief commissioners themselves are not appointed in several states."

Noting the same, the bench remarked–

"The status of implementation of the legislation indicates a dismal position across the country. From the statement, it appears that rules under Section 101 of the RPwD Act 2016 have not been notified by States of Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, and the Union Territory of Ladakh. The Chief Commissioners are to monitor the implementation of the Act. Independent commissioners under Section 79 have not been appointed by States and UTs. We direct the state governments to comply with the provisions of the Act expeditiously before September 30, 2023. Chief Commissioners are to be appointed by August 31, 2023. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment shall coordinate with all State ministries and submit a status report."

The matter is now listed for September 18, 2023

The petition also submits that Section 72 of the act which envisaged a District level Committee for each State for the purpose of ensuring that the needs of persons with disabilities are met was yet to be fully implemented. Further, though Section 101(2)(a) empowers the State governments to frame rules regarding the functions of the district level committees, without the formulation of specific rules, the committees would remain ineffective. The petition argues–

"The RPwD Act inter alia recognise the need to have a micro level self- check mechanism to ensure the needs of persons with disabilities are met and the Act is properly implemented at the lowest level. Section 72 of the RPwD Act envisages constitution of a ‘District-Level Committee’ [“DLC”] for each district for this purpose. These DLCs are meant to comprise of not just state officials but also respectable members of the local community. DLCs give teeth to the RPwD Act. Having a grassroot-level supervisory body like the DLC in place can be the safest way to ensure enforcement of the provisions of a statute."

Case Title: Seema Girija And Anr. v. UoI And Ors. Diary No. 29329/2021

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 545

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