July 27, 2019
State Commissioner for Disabilities T D Dhariyal has done some tough
talking. Fed up of the endless passing the buck between various departments,
he has issued a suo moto order directing the government of Delhi to set up
Special Courts in each district to try offences against people with
disabilities, mandated under the RPWD Act.
In an important ruling, one that should set a precedent for other states,
every district in Delhi has been directed to set up a Special Court to try
offences against people with disabilities.
The order comes directly from the office of T D Dhariyal,
State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Delhi.
This is the first time the disability commissioner of any state has taken
such a tough stand on a provision related to the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities Act, 2016.
In his letter to the Principal Secretary, Department of Law, Justice
& Legislative Affairs Government of NCT of Delhi, Mr Dhariyal
has directed that Sections 84 and 85 of the RPWD Act providing
for the setting up of Special Courts be implemented without further delay.
In the letter he says:
For every Special Court, the State Government may, by notification, specify
a Public Prosecutor or appoint an advocate, who has been in practice as an
advocate for not less than seven years, as a Special Public Prosecutor for
the purpose of conducting cases in that Court. – T D Dhariyal,
State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Delhi
Mr Dhariyal also states the qualifications that the person appointed as
public prosecutor must have:
Mr Dhariyal says he had to take this stand after attempts to get the
provisions implemented were stonewalled by various departments on various
pretexts. When the Delhi High Court stated that it had not
received a request to designate Special Courts under the RPWD Act, a show
cause notice was issued in June this year followed by a hearing on 18 July
In a letter, Mr Dhariyal has emphasised the importance of following the RPWD
Act provisions as they are mandatory and give effect to the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which
India has ratified.
Calling the Act “one of the most comprehensive and forward looking
legislations for empowerment of persons with disabilities and their inclusion
in the society”, Mr Dhariyal says that every effort must be made to ensure
the provisions are not caught up in procedural disputes. His order makes it
binding upon the concerned authorities to ensure that within 10 days of its
receipt, Special Public Prosecutors be appointed in the Special Courts.
The suo moto notice has been welcomed by disability rights advocates as long
overdue. Shailja Sharma, a legal expert in disability
matters and parent to a child with disability, says this will ensure swift
justice if the rights of any disabled person are violated.
“It is great that each district in Delhi will get two Special Courts. This
means people will not have to go the usual route to filing a police complaint
and waiting for the process of law to take its usual slow course. Now there
will be speedy trial”, hopes Shailja.
This will also come as a relief to people with physical disabilities, she
points out. “They will not have to keep going to different courts for
hearings and appeals. This will save considerable trouble for them”. Over
two years after the RPWD Act came into effect, no other state in India has
taken this step. With this order, Delhi becomes the first state to do so and
hopefully, this will push other states to do the same.
