Why not a stringent law like SC/ST Act?: Supreme Court seeks to protect dignity of disabled persons

The court was dealing with a writ petition filed by Cure SMA Foundation after some comedians mocked a person with physical disabilities in a video.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday suggested for stringent law in line with the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to protect the dignity of the disabled.

The top court also directed content creator Samay Raina and other comedians to host persons with disabilities twice a month, and telecast programs about the success stories of persons with disabilities to generate funds for treatment of such persons, including those suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, "Why can't you bring a stringent law on the lines of the SC-ST Act which criminalises casteist remarks – there is punishment if you demean them."

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, appreciated the observation and said humour cannot be at the cost of someone's dignity.

The court was dealing with a writ petition filed by Cure SMA Foundation after the comedians mocked a person with physical disabilities in a video.

"We are quite sure that if respondents are repentant and show their sincerity and commitment to the cause, the specially abled persons who have made landmark achievements in life will also accept coming on the platforms for the purpose of wider publicity in the cause. We hope and expect that such few memorable events will take place before we hear the matter on the next date," the bench said.

Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, appearing for Cure SMA, handed over a brief note depicting the success stories of those about whom undesirable and avoidable YouTube shows were held by some of the respondents.

The court said that it has been rightly suggested that there should be a dedicated fund/corpus that may be created by the concerned ministry, or if it is already created, the same can be given wide publicity, inviting corporate entities and individuals to generously donate in that fund which is exclusively meant for the treatment of the specially abled persons, like those suffering from SMA.

The plea sought action against the online content that violated the right to life and dignity of persons with disability.

The bench noted that in pursuance of the earlier orders, the respondents Raina, Vipul Goyal, Balraj Paramjeet Singh Ghai, Sonali Thakar aka Sonali Aditya Desai and Nishant Jagdish Tanwar volunteered to hold events to generate funds for the cause.

The bench added that they have also volunteered to organise at least two events in a month to generate funds for the corpus and they also sought permission of this court to invite the persons who have success stories, the details of which are brought on record by the counsel.

The court left it to the comedians to persuade and invite the specially abled persons on their platforms to promote the cause of generating funds to provide timely and quality treatment to the specially abled, like those suffering from SMA.

The court in August had ordered Raina and others to publish apologies on YouTube and other platforms for making insensitive remarks against persons with disability.