What is the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill?

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill was meant to be an enactment to codify India’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which it ratified without reservations. There was a committee set up in 2009 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, headed by Sudha Kaul, to draft a bill to this effect. Like the UNCRPD says, the committee included different people with disabilities – across disabilities – to draft this bill.

The draft bill of 2011 was submitted to the ministry, and in response to that or otherwise, the ministry released a draft bill in 2012, both of which are on the ministry’s website. The 2012 draft is not as comprehensive and inclusive as the 2011 one, and there were certain serious issues raised before the ministry on the notification of the 2012 draft.

Thereafter, the draft, apparently still in its 2012 format, went to various cabinet ministries, and then circulated among states. Some version of this bill was cleared by the Cabinet in December 2013.

Following that, organisations of persons with disabilities, confident that the 2012 draft was intact, began protests for the speedy introduction and passage of the bill.  I do not know why they did not believe that there had been changes made, but I assume it was in good faith. These protests were largely led by groups in Delhi who had better access to information. Some pockets of regional groups demanded information on the contents of the bill. They remained unanswered. Meenakshi B of the Disability Rights Alliance, Tamil Nadu, followed up with the ministries and the general passage of the bill, and she was told the bill was “top secret”. Vaishnavi J, one of the founders of The Banyan, also received similar cryptic answers.

On Wednesday, 22 January, Advocate Santosh Kumar Rungta released a copy of the bill along with his comments on how it was unsatisfactory on the point of reservations. This was not an official release. When I read the bill I was shocked at how not only had it completely changed the 2012 draft, it was also oscillating between lip service and absolute violations of the UNCRPD. 

Parliament sits on 5 February now, and since we are dealing with people with disabilities here, it is difficult to spread accessible information and raise debate because of their unique needs. Even so, we are trying. Inclusive Planet has prepared an analysis of the bill with respect to India’s obligations under the UNCRPD and NALSAR has released a comparison between the 2012 bill and this bill.

In my opinion, the needs of persons with disabilities are being sacrificed for a quick-fix social legislation on the part of the Congress government to campaign with. There is no question of reference to the standing committee, because there is no time before Parliament is dissolved before elections for the three months the Supreme Court will require to give its report.

Amba Salelkar is a lawyer, who moved into disability law and policy after six years in criminal litigation. She works with the Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability and Policy. She tweets @mumbaicentral.