The Supreme Court on August 8 issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation filed by Action for Autism, a parent-led organisation, seeking systemic reforms to safeguard the rights of autistic and neurodivergent individuals.
A Bench comprising of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice KV Viswanathan sought responses from the Union of India and other authorities, with the matter posted for hearing on August 29.
The petition, moved through Advocate-on-Record Vinod Kumar Tewari, contends that successive governments have failed to implement critical provisions of the National Trust Act, 1999, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017.
Despite India’s early ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007, the plea argues that enforcement has remained poor, leaving neurodivergent citizens vulnerable to systemic neglect, lack of resources, and social stigma.
Among the issues highlighted are denial of insurance coverage, inadequate sensory-friendly infrastructure in public spaces such as airports and railways, poor compliance with inclusive education norms, lack of community-based care, shortage of trained professionals for certification, and rising mental health challenges including depression and suicide. The petition also points to the absence of dedicated national or state-level autism and mental health centres.
Seeking wide-ranging reforms, the plea urges training of primary healthcare workers for early diagnosis, mandatory sensory accommodations in public transport, insurance parity for neurodivergent persons, streamlining of certification, and appointment of counselors and psychologists in schools. It further calls for immediate enforcement of statutory entitlements and awareness programmes to counter stigma and discrimination.
The petition warns that without urgent judicial intervention, millions of neurodivergent persons and their families will continue to face rights violations and exclusion from mainstream society.