NEW DELHI, Mar 11: The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to respond to a petition seeking improved facilities for disabled prisoners and the implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, across prisons in India. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the Union of India and other concerned parties on the plea filed by activist Sathyan Naravoor, requesting a response within four weeks.
The plea highlights the severe neglect faced by disabled prisoners, citing the cases of professor G.N. Saibaba and activist Stan Swamy to underscore the issue. The petition urges that provisions addressing the special needs of disabled inmates be incorporated into the existing Prisons Act.
Saibaba, a former Delhi University professor, passed away on October 12 last year at a Hyderabad hospital due to health complications, seven months after being acquitted in a case involving alleged links to Maoists, following a decade of imprisonment. Swamy, arrested in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon case, died in 2021 at Mumbai’s Holy Family Hospital.
Despite the enactment of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, more than eight years ago, the petition claims that many state prison manuals still do not include the necessary provisions for ramps and other accessibility features. The lack of such infrastructural facilities, including accessible toilets, severely hampers the mobility of disabled prisoners, violating the statutory requirements of the Act.
The petition further pointed out that disabled prisoners often have to rely on others for assistance with daily tasks due to the absence of adequate facilities, stressing the urgent need for reforms to ensure their basic rights and dignity are upheld within prison premises.
Tags: Northlines
