Lack of data and failure to adhere with mandates makes access to justice tough for persons with disability: Report

Bengaluru: India's legal system remains largely inaccessible for persons with disabilities (PwD), according to the ‘Access to Justice for Persons with Disabilities in India: A Data Informed Report’.

There are critical data gaps and systemic exclusion of people with disabilities across India's police, prison, judiciary, and legal aid systems, the report noted.

The report, which is a first-of-its-kind assessment of the judicial system from the perspective of people with disabilities, was released on Friday. The report is prepared by Practa, a Bengaluru-based law firm.

“Despite some progressive mandates, the justice system remains largely inaccessible to persons with disabilities due to the absence of reliable data and poor institutional implementation,” the report said.

For instance, of the 30 courts across the country, only two courts have tactile marking to assist the blind and only two of them have interpreters who can assist those with hearing impairment.

The researchers, who tried to understand how disabled-friendly the judicial system was, noted that there is a lacunae in the system as critical data on persons with disabilities in the justice system is missing or inconsistent, making accountability and reform difficult.

That apart, the report also highlighted that many courts, police stations, and prisons remain physically and digitally inaccessible, and even hostile for persons with disabilities despite legal mandates.

Failure to implement national mandates at the state level, absence of persons with disabilities from justice sector jobs, and failure to adhere to the mandated employment quotas were among the other problems highlighted.

The report also noted that though the persons with disabilities are entitled to free legal services, they face barriers due to limited outreach, accommodations, and staff training.

“In 2023-24, persons with disabilities who accessed legal aid services at various levels was a mere 0.29% of the overall number of persons who accessed it,” the report read.

The report suggested that disability-disaggregated data should be mandatorily published across all four pillars of the justice system and public accessibility audits should be conducted periodically. Integration of disability rights into training curricula for police, judiciary, and legal aid actors was among the other recommendations.