Are laws enacted by Parliament meant only for the bookshelves? Bombay High Court asks

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday was displeased to find that the mandate under the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 to have State Advisory Boards advising on policies concerning disabled persons remained only on paper in Maharashtra. .The High Court was informed yesterday that this Board has remained defunct for over four years. A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Updhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor took a dim view of such a state of affairs. "Two meetings of the Board in 2018-2019 and not even a single meeting held for all these over four years? To activate the statutory board, do you need orders from the court? These enactments are passed by Parliament to be kept on shelves? How can it be like this?” the Court commented..The Court had earlier asked the State government (on February 7) to inform it about the steps taken by the Board on the issue of accessibility to footpaths.In response, government pleader Purnima Kantharia informed the Court that the Board had only held two meetings between 2018-19 and that no meeting could not take place thereafter. The court was miffed at this response.“Why do you make such legislation if it cannot be followed? Is this legislation to be kept in bookshelves?" the Court remarked. .The Court was hearing a case initiated suo motu based on the letter from a Mumbai resident who had highlighted that bollards placed at the entrance of footpaths in Mumbai, which were meant to be a safety feature, had rendered the footpaths inaccessible for disabled persons.The Court has sought a response in the matter from the principal secretary or secretary of the concerned State department within two weeks.It also asked the government about the steps they had taken to implement the "Harmonised Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier Free Built Environment", which concerns improving accessibility for disabled persons to bus stops and terminals.The High Court will hear the matter next in July.