Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016

The petitioners, including acid‑attack survivors with facial disfigurements and a blind individual, challenged the mandatory digital KYC/e‑KYC/video‑KYC procedures for being inaccessible and discriminatory. They argued that requirements such as capturing a live photograph and performing a liveness check (e.g., eye‑blin…

The appellant, an unmarried woman in a consensual relationship, sought to terminate a 22‑week pregnancy under Section 3(2)(b) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act and Rule 3B of the MTP Rules. The Delhi High Court held that Rule 3B applied only to married women and denied the relief, prompting a Special Le…

The petitioners, teachers with B.Ed. (Special) and D.Ed. (Special) qualifications, sought a mandamus directing the Union and State governments to appoint regular special teachers for children with special needs (CwSN) in accordance with a 1:5 pupil‑teacher ratio. The Court examined the interplay of the Right of Childre…

The State of Kerala appointed Leesamma Joseph on compassionate grounds despite her 55% locomotor disability and later denied her promotion benefits under the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. The respondent claimed that sections 32, 33 and 47 of the 1995 Act guarantee reservation in promotion for persons with disabi…

The appellant, Om Rathod, a student with lower‑limb myopathy, secured a high All‑India PwD rank in the NEET‑UG 2024 exam but was declared ineligible for MBBS admission by the AIIMS‑Nagpur Medical Board, which assessed his disability at 88%—above the 80% ceiling in the RPWD guidelines. The High Court upheld the Board’s …

The petitioner, Vasanta Sampat Dupare, was convicted of rape and murder of a four‑year‑old girl and sentenced to death, a sentence that was affirmed on appeal, reviewed, and followed by rejected mercy petitions. He filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking a fresh sentencing hearing in accordance with the procedur…

The petitioners sought directions for the Union, State Governments and Union Territories to comply with the Supreme Court's earlier orders on the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, noting that the Act had been repealed and replaced by the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The Court examined the legislati…

The petitioners, who had taken their last permissible attempt at the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2020, claimed that the Covid‑19 pandemic prevented them from effectively preparing and therefore sought a mandamus directing the Union of India to grant them an additional attempt. The Court examined whether…

The appellant, a student with dysgraphia (a specified disability of 40 % under the RPwD Act), appeared for the NEET (UG) 2021 and was denied the one‑hour compensatory time mandated for persons with disability. The designated examination centre collected her answer sheet after the regular three‑hour duration, and the Na…

The appellant, a practicing advocate, applied for the post of Civil Judge (Junior Division) under the partially blind category, submitting a disability certificate showing 70% visual impairment. The Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPC) had issued a notification, based on a State Government order consulted with t…

The Rajasthan High Court advertised 120 vacancies for Civil Judges and published cut‑off marks for each category except the Persons with benchmark disabilities. Appellants Rekha Sharma (40% visual disability) and Ratan Lal (55% locomotor disability) applied under the disabled category, appeared for the Preliminary Exam…

The petitioner, an unmarried woman residing in Delhi, discovered she was 22 weeks pregnant after a consensual relationship ended and she lacked livelihood to raise a child. She filed a writ petition seeking permission to terminate the pregnancy under Section 3(2)(b) of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act and…

The appeal concerned the interpretation of Section 2(d) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, where the appellant, a mentally retarded adult, argued that "age" should include mental age so that she could be treated as a child. The Court examined the POCSO Act's objects and reasons, its d…

Anmol, a candidate with 58% multiple disabilities, secured a rank of 2462 in the NEET‑UG 2024 PwD category but was denied admission to an MBBS course by the Disability Assessment Board, which relied solely on quantified disability and the "both hands intact" clause in Appendix H‑1 of the 2019 NMC regulations. The High …

Ravi Agrawal filed a writ petition seeking retrospective application of the Finance Act, 2022 amendment to section 80DD of the Income Tax Act, which allows a subscriber to discontinue payments to a Jeevan Adhar scheme upon attaining the age of 60 and to use the accumulated benefit. He argued that the amendment should a…

The appellant, an Assistant Commandant in the CRPF, was subjected to multiple disciplinary enquiries after a complaint alleged that he made threatening statements and exhibited misconduct. He was later diagnosed with a permanent mental disability (40‑70%) and classified as unfit for duty. The appellant challenged the d…

The petitioner, a disability‑rights activist, challenged the conditions imposed by the Consortium of National Law Universities for the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2023, specifically the rules governing the use of scribes for persons with disabilities (PwD). He argued that the late issuance of guidelines and the re…

The appellant, a qualified electrical engineering graduate, was selected for the post of Assistant Engineer (Electrical) with Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) but was denied appointment after a medical examination revealed mild colour‑vision deficiency. The High Court had directed his appoi…

The petitioner, a 27‑year‑old mother of two, filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking a medical termination of her pregnancy after discovering she was about 24 weeks pregnant, citing postpartum depression and financial constraints. The Court initially ordered termination, but a doctor from the AIIMS Medical Board…

The petition, filed by a visually disabled individual, sought comprehensive accessibility measures for roads, transport, public buildings, airports, railways, websites and other public facilities. The Court held that the right to accessibility for persons with disabilities is a constitutional right under Articles 19(1)…

The Supreme Court heard a public‑interest writ filed by Disabled Rights Group seeking enforcement of reservation, accessibility and teaching‑facility provisions for persons with disabilities in higher education. The petitioners argued that institutions were not complying with the 3% reservation under the 1995 Disabilit…

The appellant, a candidate with a 44%/45% speech and language disability, qualified the NEET‑UG 2024 and applied for MBBS admission under the PwD quota. The Designated Disability Certification Centre declared him ineligible based on Appendix H‑1 of the 2019 MCI/NMC regulations, which barred persons with 40% or more dis…

L. Muruganantham, a person with Becker Muscular Dystrophy and autism, was arrested on a false complaint and detained in Central Prison, Coimbatore. He alleged that the prison failed to provide adequate medical care, nutrition, and disability‑friendly facilities, leading to a deterioration of his health. The State Human…

Pankaj Sinha filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking comprehensive measures for leprosy‑affected persons, including periodic national surveys, free multi‑drug therapy, awareness campaigns, non‑discriminatory treatment, education, rehabilitation and disability certification. The Court examined the constitutional …

The Tamil Nadu Medical Officers’ Association challenged the amendment to Regulation 9(4) and (8) of the Post‑Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000, which allowed reservation of 50% of state‑quota seats for in‑service medical officers. The petitioners argued that such reservation exceeded the legislative competen…

The appellant, Sujata Bora, applied for a Management Trainee position at Coal India Limited (CIL) in 2019 under the Visually Handicapped category and qualified for the interview. She was later declared unfit during the Initial Medical Examination because she also had residuary partial hemiparesis, and CIL denied her ap…

The petitioners, a charitable trust and an individual, sought enforcement of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016 to improve conditions in state‑run care homes for persons with cognitive disabilities, citing overcrowding, inadequate health care, abuse and lack of education. The Court examined whethe…

The appellant, a medical graduate suffering from writer's cramp (dysgraphia), applied for a scribe in the 2018 Civil Services Examination (CSE) but was denied because the UPSC said only candidates with benchmark disabilities (≥40% impairment) were eligible. The appellant challenged the denial before the Tribunal, High …

The petitioners, inspectors under the Central Excise and Customs cadre, challenged a circular dated 20 September 2018 that barred Inter‑Commissionerate Transfers (ICTs) after the 2016 Recruitment Rules came into force, alleging violations of Articles 14, 15, 16 and 21 of the Constitution and the Rights of Persons with …

The appellant, a seaman, was engaged on a foreign‑going vessel from 18 September 2009 to 18 June 2010 and was subsequently declared permanently unfit for sea service due to dilated cardiomyopathy. He claimed 100% disability compensation under clause 21 of the National Maritime Board Agreement, arguing that his heart co…

NIMS University and other petitioners filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking a reduction in the eligibility percentile for admission to NEET Super Specialty courses and a mop‑up counselling round to fill 940 vacant seats. The Union of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and other respondents declined …

Shyam Narayan Chouksey filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking directions to ensure public respect for the National Anthem, including a mandatory requirement that all cinema halls play the anthem before feature films and that audiences stand. The Supreme Court’s interim order of 30 November 2016 imposed such dir…

The petition was filed by Rajive Raturi, a visually‑challenged activist, seeking directions to ensure meaningful access to public spaces for persons with disabilities under the RPWD Act. The Supreme Court had earlier issued eleven action points in 2017, but States and Union Territories showed slow compliance, leading t…

The appellant, a person with arthrogryposis, challenged the portrayal of persons with disabilities in the film ‘Aankh Micholi’, alleging violations of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act) and the Cinematograph Act, 1952. He sought the inclusion of disability experts on the Central Board of Film …

A.K. Nair, a Reserve Bank of India employee with 50% post‑polio disability, failed to obtain the required 95 marks in the 2003 All India Merit Test for promotion to Assistant Manager by three marks. He sought condonation of the shortfall and reservation in promotion under the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. The Bo…

Mission Accessibility, a disability‑rights organization, filed a writ petition seeking modification of the scribe‑registration timeline for the Civil Services Examination and the introduction of laptops with screen‑reader software and accessible digital question papers for visually‑impaired candidates. The petition arg…

The appellant, a Scheduled Caste candidate with benchmark disabilities, secured a high rank in the NEET‑UG 2024 examination and applied for admission to the MBBS UG course at AIIMS, New Delhi under the SC‑PwBD quota. The Vardhman Mahavir Medical College’s disability certification board deemed him ineligible under NMC n…

The appellant, a permanently locomotor‑disabled electrician employed by Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board since 1985, was scheduled to retire on 30 September 2018 at age 58. An Office Memorandum dated 29 March 2013 had extended the superannuation age to 60 years for physically disabled employees, but only for th…

The Supreme Court examined whether visually impaired candidates are suitable for judicial service and whether recent amendments to the Madhya Pradesh Judicial Service Rules (Rule 6A and the proviso to Rule 7) violated constitutional equality and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The Court held that vis…

The petitioner, a 25% permanently disabled candidate with focal hand dystonia, sought a scribe, compensatory time and other accommodations for various recruitment examinations, arguing that the Office Memorandum dated 10.08.2022 limited such facilities to only Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD). The Court exami…