Blind Man Seeks Availability Of Public Documents In 'Braille' Under Disabilities Act: Allahabad HC Calls For State, HC Reply

A Blind man has approached the Allahabad High Court seeking, inter alia, availability of public documents in accessible formats (including in Braille) as per the mandate of Section 12 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

The Bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Deepak Verma has called for the reply of the State Government and the High Court administration and have been granted 3 weeks' time to filed their responses.

Essentially, the petitioner, one Nitesh Gupta, who is suffering from total blindness by birth and is thus suffering from cent percent disability approached the Court seeking implementation of Section 12 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 in its true spirit.

He submitted before the Court that he is a party in a number of cases pending in different Courts and also contended that under Section 12 of the Act, it is imperative for the appropriate Government to:

• Take steps to ensure that all public documents are made available in accessible formats
• Ensure that the filing departments, registry or any other office of records are supplied with the necessary equipment to enable filing, storing, and referring to the documents and evidence in accessible formats; and
• Make available all necessary facilities and equipment to facilitate the recording of testimonies, arguments, or opinions given by persons with disabilities in their preferred language and means of communication.

Importantly, he also submitted that the request made by him to supplying him the documents in braille script and to make arrangements for hearing through video conferencing had been declined by the Court on the administrative side without having regard to the above legal provisions.

Now, the Court has asked the State Government and the High Court administration to supply their replies on the issue and listed the matter as fresh on September 27, 2021.

Advocates Rajrshi Gupta & Sudhanshu Kumar appeared for the petitioner. 

Case title - Nitesh Gupta v. State Of U P And 3 Others 

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