The Justice Sunanda Bhandare Foundation in collaboration with QAble will be hosting conference titled 'Judging and Lawyering at the Margins Disability Rights and Beyond' at Lecture Hall No 2, Indian International Centre, Annexe, New Delhi - 03, on August 2 from 10:30AM - 2:00PM.
The upcoming conference seeks to explore how lawyers and judges can meaningfully engage with disability rights, especially when gender, and sexuality, intersect to further marginalize individuals.
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, marked a transformative shift in India's disability rights landscape. It provided statutory recognition to the core principles of dignity, accessibility, and reasonable accommodation, aligning Indian law with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
However, the law's implementation continues to be uneven, and the everyday experience of disabled persons remains shaped by legal invisibility, institutional resistance, and intersectional exclusion.
While administrative and executive directives have laid down pathways for compliance, the law's true potential lies in how courts interpret, and advocates represent these rights.
The upcoming will bring together senior jurists, practicing advocates, academics, and community leaders to reflect on the challenges, faced by clients and by lawyers with disabilities and ways in which advocacy and adjudication can become more disability inclusive.
Inauguration by
Justice Manmohan, Judge, Supreme Court of India
Panel 1: Lawyering for Clients with Disabilities
Speakers
Justice Manmohan, Judge, Supreme Court of India
Justice AK Sikri, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India
Rahul Bajaj, Advocate and Co-Founder, Mission Accessibility
Praveen Prakash Ambashta, Deputy Commissioner, Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities
Moderator
Amar Jain, Advocate and Co-Founder, Mission Accessibility
Discussion Points
Common legal challenges faced by persons with disabilities
Ensuring accessible and ethical client consultations
Balancing strategic litigation with timely access to justice
Institutional resistance in education and employment
Advocating for reasonable accommodation in legal procedures
Avoiding patronisation and ensuring dignity in representation
Panel 2: Lawyering for Women with Disabilities
Panellists
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, Judge, Delhi High Court
Jayna Kothari, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India; Co-Founder, Centre for Law and Policy Research
Shampa Sengupta, Disability Rights Activist and Co-Founder, Sruti Disability Rights
Sanchita Ain, Advocate-on-Record, Supreme Court of India
Centre Moderator
Namita Bhandare, Justice Sunanda Bhandare Foundation
Discussion Points
Gendered dimensions of disability in legal processes
Trauma-informed testimony and confidentiality
Navigating patriarchal and ableist legal institutions
Criminal, civil, and family law challenges for women with disabilities
Panel 3: Queer and Disabled Lawyering at the Margins
Panellists
Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India
Saurabh Kirpal, Senior Advocate, Delhi High Court
Kiran Nayak, transgender and disability rights activist
Moderator
Anchal S Bhatheja, Research Fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and Founder, QAble
Discussion Points
Representing queer and disabled clients in hostile legal environments
The role of identity and positionality in lawyering
Queerphobia and ableism in legal education and practice
Building inclusive networks of support for queer-disabled legal professionals
Objectives of the Conference
To foreground lived experiences in legal representation and adjudication
To generate dialogue on ethical, accessible, and inclusive lawyering
To create a platform for disability and queer-inclusive legal discourse
To identify barriers in the legal ecosystem and brainstorm systemic solutions
To build solidarity across movements and professional roles
Date: August 2, 2025
Time: 10:30AM - 2:00PM
Venue: Hall No. 2, Annex, India International Centre, New Delhi
Deadline to register: August 1 | Register via this Google Form
[Read Conference Schedule]