Supreme Court Accessibility Committee recommends disability-friendly infrastructure in apex court campus

The Supreme Court Committee on Accessibility has recommended installation of necessary infrastructure to make the apex court premises disabled-friendly..In a report released on Monday, the Committee headed by the Supreme Court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat called for the implementation of an equal opportunity policy and suggested installation of modern technologies such as kiosks and QR navigation systems.This would be in addition to improved safety and evacuation procedures..The Committee had in February released two questionnaires to elicit feedback about the problems faced by persons with disabilities in accessing the premises of the top court.This was in pursuance of a comprehensive accessibility audit of the apex court premises. The audit extended to both physical as well as technological accessibility.The first questionnaire sought to gather inputs from specially-abled individuals who have 'had interface' with the Supreme Court as lawyers, litigants, employees, visitors, researchers etc. The second questionnaire was for disability rights experts.The Committee had also been tasked with recommending proposals that are geared towards removing barriers to access..In its report released on Monday, the Committee outlines how it focused on understanding and addressing the unique challenges encountered by women, particularly during pregnancy, and senior citizens (litigants and advocates).The Committee had briefly focused on the unique needs outlined in the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017, regarding special court procedures for individuals who are HIV-positive/protected, as per a press release.The Committee members consisted of Dr Sanjay Jain, Professor at the National Law School of India University in Bengaluru; Nilesh Singit, an independent accessibility expert nominated by the Centre for Disability Studies, NALSAR University of Law; V Sridhar Reddy, nominated by the Supreme Court Bar Association; Shakti Mishra, an employee of the Supreme Court; and Sunil Chauhan, Additional Registrar at the Supreme Court, as the Member Secretary of the Committee. The Committee was assisted by members of two sub-committees, particularly, advocate Rahul Bajaj and Supreme Court Registrar Hargurvarinder S Jaggi. Inputs were also received from Senior Advocate Priya Hingorani, advocate Shweta Hingorani and Associate Professor at Delhi University's Maitreyi College, Smriti Singh,The Committee also benefited from the inputs of R Arulmozhiselvi, a Member of Human Resources at the E-Committee..Digital accessibility for the disabled is a right; legal community can provide enormous support: Rahul Bajaj