Supreme Court issues notice on PIL for effective implementation of RPwD Act 2016

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The Supreme Court issued notice on a public interest litigation (PIL) on Monday seeking full and effective implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

"Issue notice, returnable in three weeks. List the Petition on 25 November 2024," ordered a bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud and comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

The plea, filed through advocate Mohammed Sadique T. A., sought direction to the Union and all state governments to take effective measures for sensitisation among the officers in the government, especially the civil services, concerning the rights of persons with disabilities under the RPwd Act, 2016.

Referring to several reports, the plea said that the provisions of the RPwD Act have not been implemented properly and effectively.

It said that as per the Annual Report of the year 2021-2022 published by the Office of the Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in 2022, the majority of states still suffer from non-application or weak application of the provisions of the RPwD Act and several states had not submitted their reports.

The petition also said that the majority of the states have not notified the state rules and 50 per cent of the states and UTs have not constituted a state advisory board.

"The lack of implementation of numerous provisions in the RPwD Act violates the fundamental rights of the disabled persons under Articles 14,15,19 and 21 of the Constitution of India," further said the PIL.

It added that the lack of full and effective implementation of the provisions of the RPWD Act, 2016, including those on reservation violates the fundamental rights of persons with disabilities, and denies them a life of dignity, equal opportunity, and non-discrimination, to which they are entitled.

The petitioner, Sanjay Jain, is totally blind since birth and currently works as a law Professor at Bangalore's National Law School of India University (NLIU). In addition to being an academic, he is also a disability rights activist.

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