Supreme Court Seeks Report From Certain States/UTs On Implementation Of Persons With Disabilities Act

The matter was placed before the Bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Prashant Kumar Mishra.

These States and UTs are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

The present writ petition filed by Justice Sunanda Bhandare Foundation sought the following reliefs:

i. for implementation of the provisions of the then Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995

ii. direction for the reservation of 1% of the identified teaching posts in the faculties and colleges of various Universities in terms of Section 33 of the 1995 Act and

iii. for a declaration that denial of appointment to the visually disabled persons in the faculties and colleges of various Universities in the identified posts is violative of their fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 15, read with Article 41 of the Constitution of India.

Back in 2014, the Top Court's Bench consisting of Justices R.M. Lodha, Sudhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya, and Dipak Misra observed that the 1995 Act has to be implemented in the letter and spirit without any delay, if not implemented so far.

Underscoring its significance, the Court said: “Be that as it may, the beneficial provisions of the 1995 Act cannot be allowed to remain only on paper for years and thereby defeating the very purpose of such law and legislative policy. The Union, States, Union Territories and all those upon whom obligation has been cast under the 1995 Act have to effectively implement it. As a matter of fact, the role of the governments in the matter such as this has to be proactive.”

Accordingly, the Court directed the Central Government, State Governments, and Union Territories to implement the provisions of the 1995 Act immediately and positively by the end of 2014.

Pursuant to this, on 06.03.2020, the Court directed all the State Governments to file their respective compliance affidavit. Though some States did file their response, the above-mentioned States did not.

In view of this, the Court passed the aforesaid direction while also permitting the other States to file updated affidavits.

Case Title: JUSTICE SUNANDA BHANDARE FOUNDATION vs. U.O.I., Diary No.- 2844 – 1998

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