CJI DY Chandrachud Constitutes "Supreme Court Committee On Accessibility" To Ensure Access For Persons With Disability In Justice System

The Chief Justice of India Justice DY Chandrachud has called for a comprehensive Accessibility audit of the Supreme Court premises. The aim of the audit is to ensure accessibility in the justice system and understand the hardships faced by the specially-abled persons in their interface with the Supreme Court of India. 

On December 3 2022, which is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Chief Justice Chandrachud constituted a "Supreme Court Committee on Accessibility". The Committee is headed by Justice S Ravindra Bhat and has been asked to conduct an accessibility audit extending to both physical as well as technology accessibility. The Committee has also been tasked to prepare and release a questionnaire for persons with disabilities, who visit the Supreme Court premises to assess the nature and extent of the problems they face. It is to be noted that inputs will also be sought by the Committee from Supreme Court Advocates, litigants, interns etc.

The Committee also includes a Professor from NLSIU, Bengaluru and shall be preparing a report which contains the results of the audit and survey. Accordingly, the committee will recommend proposals which would assist in removing barriers to access for differently-abled persons. Other members of the committee include a differently abled person employed at the Supreme Court, a differently abled Advocate nominated by Supreme Court Bar Association and a person nominated by the Centre for Disability Studies at NALSAR University of Law. An Officer of the Supreme Court Registry will be the Member Secretary of the Committee.

This initiative by the Chief Justice of India is in lines with the World Health Organisation's theme for 2022 – "Transformative solutions for inclusive development : the role of innovation in fuelling an accessible and equitable world".