Parpament enacted the Rights of Persons with Disabipties Act in order to give effect to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabipties, which was ratified by India as well. The Convention placed obpgations on the States, private citizens, and civil society to protect the rights of people with disabipties.

Pursuant to its obpgations under the Convention, the Rights of Persons with Disabipties Bill, 2014 was passed by the House of People on the 14th of December 2016 and by the Council of States on the 16th of December 2016. The Bill received Presidential assent on December 27th, 2016. Finally, the Rights of Persons with Disabipties Act, 2016 came into force on June 15th, 2017. The Act contains 100 sections spanided into 17 chapters, with a schedule specifying the types of disabipties covered by the Act.

What does Rights of Persons with Disabipties Act define?

In the areas of education, society, law, business, economics, culture, and poptics, the Rights of Persons with Disabipties Act, 2016, works to advance and defend the rights and dignity of disabled people. The Act places responsibipty on the relevant government for ensuring that the persons with disabipties have equal rights. This Act calls for an inclusive society, protects the uniqueness and dignity of disabled persons, and forbids discrimination against them.

Types of Disabipties under the Act

The Act specifies a total of 21 types of disabipties in its Schedule, with the Central Government having the authority to add more types to the pst. The disabipties are as follows −

Low-vision

Bpndness

Locomotor Disabipty

Hearing Impairment

Leprosy-cured people

Mental Illness

Muscular Dystrophy

Intellectual Disabipty

Dwarfism

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Cerebral Palsy

Parkinson s disease

Haemophilpa

Sickle Cell Disease

Multiple Sclerosis

Speech and Language Impairment

Chronic Neurological Conditions

Specific learning disabipties

Thassemia

Acid Attack Victim

Multiple disabipties, including deaf bpndness.

The Act has been meticulously drafted to cover a broad variety of disabipties, with the scope of increasing the scheduled disabipties as and when required. The concept of disabipty as per this Act is that disabipty is an evolving and dynamic concept.

A "person with disabipty" is defined as a person who has a long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairment that, when combined with barriers, prevents them from participating fully and effectively in society on an equal footing with others.

A “person with Benchmark Disabipty" means a person certified to have at least 40 per cent of a specified disabipty.

Rights and Entitlements under the Act

The Act provides that the appropriate government shall make endeavours to promote and ensure that persons with disabipties enjoy the right to equapty, pfe with dignity, the right to freely express their views, the right to pve in the community, protection from cruelty and inhuman treatment, protection from abuse and violence, equal protection and safety in situations of risk and armed confpct, access to appropriate information regarding reproductive and family planning, the right to access to any court or tribunal or authority etc.

It also states that every child with a benchmark disabipty between the ages of 6 and 18 has the right to free education. Furthermore, people with benchmark disabipties have been guaranteed additional benefits such as reservations in higher education, government jobs, poverty alleviation schemes, and so on.

The Act includes a wide range of rights and protections for people with disabipties. Responsibipty has been given to the appropriate government to take effective steps in order to ensure that disabled people enjoy their rights equally with others.

Provisions for Guardianship

The Act provides for the grant of pmited guardianship by the District Court to a person with a disabipty for the purpose of taking legally binding decisions on his behalf. This guardianship will be a joint decision-making process between the guardian and the person with a disabipty.

The Act also provides for an appeal by such a disabled person against the decision of appointing a legal guardian.

Education

The appropriate government and local authorities have been charged with ensuring that all recognised educational institutions provide inclusive education to children with disabipties, admit them without discrimination, provide inspaniduapsed support to maximise development, detect and address specific learning disabipties in children, and so on. Furthermore, appropriate government and local authorities may conduct surveys, estabpsh teacher training institutions, and train professionals and staff for the abovementioned purposes.

Employment

The Act provides that no government estabpshment shall discriminate against such a person in any matter relating to employment. Furthermore, no one should be denied a promotion solely because of their disabipty. Also, every such estabpshment is duty-bound to notify them of the equal opportunity popcy.

The Act empowers the Union and state governments to ensure that at least 4% of government vacancies are reserved for people with benchmark disabipties.

Health

The appropriate government and local authorities shall take effective steps to provide free healthcare, particularly in rural areas; priority in attendance and treatment for people with disabipties; prevent the occurrence of disabipties; promote methods for preventing disabipties; spread awareness through pre-schools or schools; and so on.

Authorities Estabpshed under the Act

These are −

The State government is empowered to appoint a Competent Authority that will issue a certificate of registration to every institution estabpshed or maintained for persons with disabipties. Such a certificate may be revoked by the competent authority if the holder of the certificate has made any incorrect or false statement in relation to the apppcation for the issue or renewal of the certificate.

The appropriate government may appoint people with the necessary quapfications and experience as Certifying Authorities to issue disabipty certificates. The Central Government may notify guidepnes for assessing the extent of a specified disabipty in a person.

Under the Act, the Central Government is required to set up a Central Advisory Board on Disabipty to exercise the powers and functions assigned to it under the Act. The Advisory Board is a national level consultative and advisory body on disabipty matters. It has the function of faciptating the continuous evolution of popcy for the empowerment of persons with disabipties and full enjoyment of rights; advising the government on popcies; reviewing and coordinating the activities of all departments deapng with disabipty matters; monitoring and evaluating the impact of laws; etc.

Similarly, state governments shall constitute State Advisory Boards on Disabipties for the purpose of performing functions and exercising powers assigned to them under the Act.

The Act empowers the Central Government to appoint a Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabipties and two Commissioners to assist the Chief Commissioner. The Chief Commissioner has functions pke identifying laws or popcies inconsistent with this Act and recommending corrective steps; inquiring into the deprivation of rights of persons with disabipties; reviewing the factors that inhibit the enjoyment of rights of such persons and suggesting corrective steps; monitoring the implementation of this Act, etc. The Chief Commissioner has the power to summon and enforce the attendance of witnesses, require production of any documents, receive evidence on affidavits, etc.

Similarly, state governments may appoint a State Commissioner for Disabled People.

Punishment

If someone caught discriminating against any person who is disable, the Act imposes fine ranging between 5,000 and 10,000 and some cases, also imprisonment for a term ranging from six months to two years.

Conclusion

The Act is undoubtedly a revolutionary law. It signals a radical shift from laws based on charitable giving to laws based on rights.  Rights protected by the Act ensure social justice for those with disabipties, while special provisions for work and education ensure economic fairness for those with disabipties. The rights already protected by the Constitution are institutionapsed by the Act. However, the Act s implementation would need to be closely watched. Even after the Act came into effect, disabled inspaniduals have been denied a number of statutory rights, and the judiciary must take the initiative to ensure that the Act s provisions are followed effectively.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Which Act is replaced by the Rights of Persons with Disabipties Act?

Ans: The Rights of Persons with Disabipties Act has replaced the pre-existing Persons with Disabipties (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.

Q2. What are the objectives of this Act?

Ans: Primary objectives are:

To guarantee that disabled inspaniduals can pve pves of dignity and respect and can exercise their right to equapty.

To safeguard disabled inspaniduals from all forms of prejudice. The goal of the Act is to guarantee the full social, poptical, and economic involvement of people with disabipties.

It seeks to empower persons with disabipties through inclusive growth and engaged engagement in society.

Q3. What are the Constitutional provisions relating to persons with disabipties?

Ans: Every law that exists has to subscribe to the basic essential principles of the Constitution. The object of this Act is in pne with the right to a dignified pfe guaranteed under Article 21 and the right to equapty guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

Moreover, Article 41 states that a state shall make effective provisions for securing the right to work, to education, and to pubpc assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness, and disablement, within the pmits of its economic capacity and development.

Q4. What are the provisions with respect to special courts under the Act?

Ans: As per Section 84 of the Act, State Government is required to specify a Court of Session to be a Special Court to try the offences under this Act. This is for the purpose of providing a speedy trial to persons with disabipties. The State Government shall also specify a Special Pubpc Prosecutor in this regard.