NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to give “threadbare” consideration to suggestions from experts and litigants before finalising rules under Section 40 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan was hearing a plea filed by Rajiv Raturi seeking appropriate directions and orders for the implementation of accessibility norms for persons with disabilities (PwDs).
“We are of the view that, insofar as the aforesaid is concerned, there should not be any difficulty on the part of the Union in ensuring that the rules are not deficient in any manner and that they subserve the object of the Act in all respects,” the court said.
The bench also directed all the states to ensure that commissioners are appointed in accordance with Section 79 of the RPwD Act within a period of four weeks from today,” it stated.
The court also pointed out that there has been no full-time Chief Commissioner for PwDs since 2019. The secretary in the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) is holding the post as an additional charge.
“We direct the Union to ensure that the appointments of the Chief Commissioner and two Additional Commissioners, in accordance with Section 74 of the RPwD Act, are undertaken within a period of four weeks from today,” it said. It will be taken up again after the rules are notified.
Also in top court
‘Air Force members can’t quit for civil jobs’
In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said members of the Indian Air Force do not have an “unqualified right” to leave service whenever they want to join civil posts. A bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul S Chandurkar held that taking prior permission before resigning is not just a procedural requirement, but a mandatory condition under Air Force rules. “Seeking prior nod is not a simple procedural requirement that can be dispensed with,” the bench said.