HYDERABAD: There are some qualified advocates in the State who were forced to leave practice. It was not due to lack of clients or knowledge, but because court complexes are not accessible to them. Lawyers with Disabilities (LWDs) say that none of the court premises in the city are disabled-friendly, forcing some among them to quit. According to an informal survey conducted by the recently-formed Telangana Disabled Advocates Association(TDAA), there are around 1,000 LWDs in the State. They, however, have very few clients as logistics of moving from one court to another becomes a challenge due to design barriers in courts.
Mohd Fariduddin, for instance, specialises in civil and criminal cases. He has 85 per cent orthopaedic disability and needs the support of crutches. While some judges are considerate and wait for Fariduddin, there are others who push the hearing date even if they are late by a few minutes. “It’s a known fact that our judges are overburdened as there is a shortage of judges in courts. They do not have the time to wait and prefer to hear the next case where the lawyer and parties are ready,” says Ramachander Sanjay, an advocate with locomotor disability. The Nampally, Miyapur and Erramanzil court complexes, do not have ramps. Also, the elevators in Miyapur and Erramanzil hardly function. They are not properly maintained and climbing three floors takes at least 15 minutes, say these lawyers. On the other hand, the rest rooms do not have western commodes, making it hard to even relieve themselves.
All of these lawyers feel that if the rules of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 are formulated, their problems would end. “If the Act is implemented, as mandated under it, these premises will be made accessible for us,” points out Fariduddin. Several people including Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot, on his recent visit, have demanded the State government to speed up the process of formulating rules of the Act.
Besides, legal experts have been suggesting Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods—like mediation and arbitration—as a solution to their problem and also to ease the work burden of understaffed courts. “LWDs can start practising this as these mechanisms do not require us to move from one place to another frequently. For this, the courts and the judges have to acknowledge our existence and also promote ADR,” says Fariduddin. Meanwhile, B Shailaja, director, Department of Disabled Welfare informed that certain aspects of the Act are already being implemented.