Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chadrachud has constituted a committee for comprehensive audit of the Supreme Court premises, to ensure accessibility in the justice system, under the chairmanship of a sitting judge of the Apex Court.
The CJI announced the formation of the Supreme Court Committee on Accessibility on Saturday, on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
As per the CJI, the Committee, to be headed by Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, will take into consideration the hardships faced by the specially-abled persons in their interface with the Apex Court.
Apart from conducting an accessibility audit extending to both physical as well as technology accessibility, the Committee will also prepare and release a questionnaire for persons with disabilities, who visit the Supreme Court premises.
It will further seek inputs from lawyers, litigants and interns attending the Apex Court proceedings.
The Committee will prepare a report containing the results of the audit and survey and recommend proposals geared towards removing barriers to access.
Members of the Committee include a Professor from NLU Bengaluru, a
differently-abled person employed at the Supreme Court, a differently-abled Advocate nominated by the Supreme Court Bar Association and a person nominated by the Centre for Disability Studies at NALSAR University of Law.
An Officer of the Supreme Court Registry will be the Member
Secretary of the Committee.
The initiative taken by the CJI falls in line with the theme of World Health Organisation for 2022, which is ‘Transformative solutions for inclusive development : the role of innovation in fuelling an accessible and equitable world’.