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The Supreme Court connected Monday (June 1, 2026) sought the Centre’s effect connected a nationalist involvement litigation (PIL) petition alleging that wide non-compliance with the recommendations of disablement commissions was reducing disability rights to “illusory promises”.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P.B. Varale issued announcement connected the plea filed by Shashank Pandey, a lawyer and disablement rights activist, and asked the Union Government to respond. “Issue notice. Returnable connected July 21, 2026,” the Bench said.
The plea sought the apical court’s involution to code “existing gaps” successful the functioning of these “oversight bodies” and guarantee “meaningful” extortion of disablement rights crossed India. It pointed retired that Sections 76 and 81 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPwD), 2016 confer connected the Chief Commissioner and State Commissioners for persons with disabilities (PwD) the powerfulness to marque recommendations, which the authorities acrophobic are mandated to comply with wrong 3 months.
However, Mr. Pandey submitted that disposable information showed that successful a bulk of cases, authorities neither comply with the recommendations of the disablement commissions nor supply immoderate justification for their non-compliance. “To illustrate, arsenic per authoritative figures of the Union of India, betwixt 2022 and 2024, reasons for non-compliance were furnished by the responsive authorities successful lone 10-15% of the cases successful which the recommendations of the Chief Commissioner for PwD were not implemented,” the plea stated.
The tribunal was besides informed that successful specified instances, the disablement commissions person the powerfulness nether Section 93 of the RPwD Act to penalise defaulting authorities. However, the plea contended that determination has been “no case” to day successful which the Chief Commissioner for PwD (CCPD) has imposed a good connected immoderate authorization nether the provision.
“While recommendations of the CCPD notation to the anticipation of imposing penalties nether Section 93 wherever the requisite accusation is not furnished, successful signifier specified fines are ne'er imposed. This lacuna results successful a concern wherever petitioners, contempt receiving favourable recommendations from disablement commissions, are forced to attack law courts to unafraid their implementation,” the plea added.
Pointing to infrastructural constraints, Mr. Pandey besides submitted that respective disablement commissions deficiency functional websites and public-facing grievance redressal portals, portion commissions successful astir 20 States bash not person a website astatine all.
“The nonaccomplishment to guarantee effective, autarkic and empowered enforcement mechanisms violates Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the close to beingness with dignity. Accessibility, non-discrimination, tenable accommodation and entree to remedies are intrinsic to dignified surviving for PwD, and a rights model that exists lone connected paper, without meaningful enforceability, reduces these guarantees to illusory promises,” the plea said.
It accordingly sought directions to guarantee effectual and time-bound compliance with the recommendations of disablement commissions, including the imposition of fines nether the RPwD Act successful cases of non-compliance.
The petition besides sought an “independent audit” of the offices of the Chief Commissioner and State Commissioners for PwD to place infrastructural and functional deficiencies and guarantee their rectification.
