Finalise guidelines on access for disabled persons to OTT platforms in 3 months: Delhi High Court to I&B Ministry

The Delhi High Court on Thursday recorded an undertaking by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) that it would finalise accessibility guidelines for hearing and visually impaired persons on Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms, in the next three months [Akshat Baldwa & Anr v. Maddock Films Private Limited and Ors]. 

Central Government Standing Counsel Sandeep Mahapatra told the Court that the Ministry has published the draft guidelines on its official website for comments from stakeholders and public.

Justice Sachin Datta disposed of the petition on the basis of the specific undertaking given by MIB that it would finalise the guidelines within three months.

"It is assured by Ministry's counsel that the feedback/suggestion of the petitioner will be duly considered and taken into account before formulation of final guidelines. It is further assured and undertaken that the final guidelines shall be issued within three months. No further directions are required to be passed in the present petition."

The petitioners are visually impaired persons who were aggrieved by the lack of disabled-friendly accessibility features in recently released Bollywood movies on OTT platforms.

On the last date of hearing, the Court had directed the MIB to formulate such guidelines, in accordance with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

In today's hearing, Advocate Rahul Bajaj, representing the petitioners, stated that there are certain infirmities in the draft guidelines. He stated that the MIB has consulted with members of the industry, not with persons with disabilities, and that it is imperative that all stakeholders are consulted.

The Court granted liberty to the petitioners to submit their response on the draft guidelines.

"In case the petitioner has any grievance with respect to the formulation of guidelines, he shall be at liberty to take legal recourse," the Court stated.

The draft Guidelines for Accessibility of Content on platforms of publishers of Online Curated Content (OTT Platforms) for Persons with Hearing and Visual Impairment are available on the MIB's website for public comments till October 22.

As per the draft, OTT platforms "shall strive" to make available audio descriptions of the audio-visual content for its users in a concise and comprehensible format to fit within the allotted time, enhancing the original piece without causing distractions.

It directs that within 6 months, the OTT platforms shall ensure that all new content carries at least one accessibility feature for hearing impaired and visually-impaired viewers, namely Closed/Open Captioning (CC/OC) and Audio Descriptors or Indian Sign Language (AD/ISL)

The guidelines do not extend to live or deferred live events, audio content such as music, podcasts and short form content such as advertisements.

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