Notify Guidelines To Make Cinema More Accessible For Visually, Hearing Impaired Persons Before July 15: Delhi High Court To MIB

The Delhi High Court has directed the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to finalize and notify on or before July 15 the guidelines for making cinema more accessible for visually and hearing impaired individuals.

Justice Prathiba M Singh clarified that the guidelines shall make the provision of accessibility features mandatory in feature films and provide a reasonable period for compliance by all stakeholders, in an expeditious manner.

As per an affidavit submitted by MIB on March 14, the Ministry is in the process of finalizing the guidelines titled “Draft Guidelines of Accessibility Standards in the Public Exhibition of Feature Films in Cinema Theatres for Persons with Hearing and Visual Impairment.”

The guidelines lay down Accessibility Standards for public exhibition of feature films for persons with hearing and visual impairment and would be applicable for feature films for public exhibition in cinema halls or movie theatres for commercial purposes.

Justice Singh directed that in the meantime the guidelines are notified, if any representations are received by MIB for inclusion of accessibility features in films, one Under Secretary from the Ministry shall be nominated as the designated officer for receipt of such representations.

“The representations if received, shall be responded to within three working days and attempt shall be made that even in the interregnum, while the Guidelines are to be notified, that such features are included in features films, including on OTT platforms. The contact details of the said Under Secretary shall be published on the website by 10th April 2024, by the MIB,” the court said.

The court disposed of a plea filed last year for making captions in the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Jawan accessible for visually and hearing impaired persons. It sought the inclusion of audio description, close captioning and subtitles in the film in consonance with the rights of persons with disabilities.

While disposing of the plea, Justice Singh said that accessibility is enforceable as a legal right and even private parties have to ensure that 'reasonable accommodation' measures are taken in order to enable greater accessibility for the hearing and visually impaired persons.

“A hearing or visually impaired person, may get easy physical access to a film theatre but may not be able to enjoy the film at all, if measures to make it enjoyable are not taken by the other stakeholders, including producers, theatre managers, OTT platforms, etc. The State has a positive obligation to ensure that all steps, that are reasonably possible, are taken in this direction,” the court said.

It added that non-provision of accessibility features would constitute an offence under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.

The plea was moved by various PwDs, including a law student, lawyers and the Executive Director of the National Association for the Deaf, seeking enforcement of various rights and accessibility requirements as prescribed under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

The case of the petitioners was that though various rights have been recognized for persons with disabilities and under the 2016 Act, films released in India do not cater to the needs of the disabled.

Last year, the court directed the Union Government to hold a stakeholder consultation for making films disabled-friendly and to ensure the implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

Counsel for Petitioners: Mr. Rahul Bajaj and Ms. Mahoor Ghani, Advocate

Counsel for Respondents: Mr. Abhishek Malhotra and Ms. Srishti Gupta, Advocates for R-1; Mr. Ravi Prakash, CGSC with Ms. Astu Khandelwal, Mr. Farman Ali, Mr. Taha Yasin, Mr. Yasharth and Ms. Usha Jamnal, Advocates for R-2 and 3; Mr. Devvrat Joshi and Mr. Angad S Makkar, Advs; Mr. Nitin Sharma, Mr. Kuber Mahajan and Ms. Deepika Pokharia, Advocates for R-5; Mr. Pranav Sarthi and Ms. Ayushi Chaurasia, Advocates for R-6

Case Title: AKSHAT BALDWA & ORS. v. YASH RAJ FILMS & ORS.

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 370

Click Here To Read Order