J&K HC Revives PIL To Ensure Dignity & Equality To Persons With Disabilities; Seeks Report Regarding Framing Of Rules [Read Order]

The Bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Puneet Gupta revived the plea filed by one Javed Ahmad Tak, on behalf of the Humanity Welfare Organization, and impleaded the Administration of UTs of J&K and Ladakh and their Social Welfare Departments, as Respondents in the matter.

The Bench has asked all the respondents to place a report regarding steps being taken for notifying the rules under this Act.

Significantly, the plea was filed in 2018 and vide an order dated July 30, 2019, the High Court had sought for a detailed action plan from the J&K Department of Social Welfare.

However, the proceedings came to be closed in March this year, after the Court observed that a similar plea regarding insufficiency of infrastructure in the schools for blind, titled Golden Hearts Foundation v. State of J&K, was already pending in the High Court.

In July, a representation for revival of proceedings was made before the High Court whereof the Bench observed,

"We find that this writ petition (Golden Hearts) was restricted to the insufficiency of infrastructure in the school for blind in Roop Nagar, Jammu, and sought directions for provision of two schools for blind in all districts of the State of Jammu and Kashmir (Now UT of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh) and education facilities and employment opportunities for blind persons.

The instant writ petition however, was registered on a representation received from Mr. Javed Ahmad Tak, regarding difficulties of underprivileged classes especially for persons with disabilities and sought passing of the directions under the "Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act" in para materia with the Central Act. It, inter alia, sought specific relief with regard to education at par with the Central Laws insofar as persons with mental disabilities. Therefore, the scope of the PIL No. 17/2018 is much wider which was listed before this Court and covered all disabilities as that of PIL No. 23/2016 which is pending in Jammu wing of this Court."

Accordingly, proceedings in the matter have been revived and a direction has been passed for compliance of the order dated July 30, 2019, viz.:

• Place the steps taken by the respondents as well as the detailed action plan dealing with all issues as noted by us in our previous order
• The Srinagar Municipal Corporation and the traffic authorities shall also place before this Court their action plan and steps taken to ensure that the pavements and roads are disable friendly. Mr. Javed Tak points out that the issues relating to disability are not sufficiently addressed in engineering and architectural institutions and that this needs to be made a specific part of curriculum.
• Let the Secretary of Higher Education and Technical Education Department shall place before this Court the status report regarding the inclusion of courses and subjects relating to the rights and requirement of the disabled in the institutions undertaking education in engineering and architecture courses.

The matter is now listed for hearing on November 6, 2020.

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