Skip to main content

Rights of Person with Disabilities Act

RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, 2016


The Act replaces the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. It fulfils the obligations to the United National Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which India is a signatory. 

According to the The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, enacted on 28.12.2016 and came into force from 19.04.2017, Disability has been defined based on an evolving and dynamic concept. 

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE ACT

Disabilities covered

  • Disability has been defined based on an evolving and dynamic concept.

  • The types of disabilities have been increased from existing 7 to 21 and the Central Government will have the power to add more types of disabilities. The 21 disabilities are given below:-

    1. Physical Disability

      • Locomotor Disability

        • Leprosy Cured Person

        • Cerebral Palsy

        • Dwarfism

        • Muscular Dystrophy

        • Acid Attack Victims

      • Visual Impairment

        • Blindness

        • Low Vision

      • Hearing Impairment

        • Deaf

        • Hard of Hearing

      • Speech and Language Disability

    2. Intellectual Disability

      • Specific Learning Disabilities

      • Autism Spectrum Disorder

    3. Mental Behaviour (Mental Illness)

    4. Disability caused due to-

      • Chronic Neurological Conditions such as

        • Multiple Sclerosis

        • Parkinson’s Disease

      • Blood Disorder

        • Haemophilia

        • Thalassemia

        • Sickle Cell Disease

    5. Multiple Disabilities

  • Persons with "benchmark disabilities" are defined as those certified to have at least 40 per cent of the disabilities specified above.

 

 

Rights and entitlements

  • Responsibility has been cast upon the appropriate governments to take effective measures to ensure that the persons with disabilities enjoy their rights equally with others.

  • Additional benefits such as reservation in higher education (not less than 5%), government jobs (not less than 4 %), reservation in allocation of land, poverty alleviation schemes (5% allotment) etc. have been provided for persons with benchmark disabilities and those with high support needs.

  • Every child with benchmark disability between the age group of 6 and 18 years shall have the right to free education.

  • Government funded educational institutions as well as the government recognized institutions will have to provide inclusive education to the children with disabilities.

  • For strengthening the Prime Minister's Accessible India Campaign, stress has been given to ensure accessibility in public buildings (both Government and private) in a prescribed time-frame.

Guardianship

  • The Act provides for grant of guardianship by District Court under which there will be joint decision – making between the guardian and the persons with disabilities.

Establishment of Authorities

  • Broad based Central & State Advisory Boards on Disability are to be set up to serve as apex policy making bodies at the Central and State level.

  • Office of Chief Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities has been strengthened who will now be assisted by 2 Commissioners and an Advisory Committee comprising of not more than 11 members drawn from experts in various disabilities.

  • Similarly, the office of State Commissioners of Disabilities has been strengthened who will be assisted by an Advisory Committee comprising of not more than 5 members drawn from experts in various disabilities.

  • The Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities and the State Commissioners will act as regulatory bodies and Grievance Redressal agencies and also monitor implementation of the Act.

  • District level committees will be constituted by the State Governments to address local concerns of PwDs. Details of their constitution and the functions of such committees would be prescribed by the State Governments in the rules.

  • Creation of National and State Fund will be created to provide financial support to the persons with disabilities. The existing National Fund for Persons with Disabilities and the Trust Fund for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities will be subsumed with the National Fund.

 

Penalties for offences

  • The Act provides for penalties for offences committed against persons with disabilities and also violation of the provisions of the new law.

  • Any person who violates provisions of the Act, or any rule or regulation made under it, shall be punishable with imprisonment up to six months and/ or a fine of Rs 10,000, or both. For any subsequent violation, imprisonment of up to two years and/or a fine of Rs 50,000 to Rs five lakh can be awarded.

  • Whoever intentionally insults or intimidates a person with disability, or sexually exploits a woman or child with disability, shall be punishable with imprisonment between six months to five years and fine.

  • Special Courts will be designated in each district to handle cases concerning violation of rights of PwDs.




 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Concept of constitutionalism

  Concept of constitutionalism Who Started Constitutionalism? John Locke - The English Bill of Rights is a foundational constitutional document that helped inspire the American Bill of Rights. Political theorist  John Locke  played a huge role in cementing the philosophy of constitutionalism.  Constitution is a written law which describes the structure of Government, the rules according to which the Govt. must work and the boundaries within which the Govt. must work. Constitutionalism   can be defined as the doctrine that governs the legitimacy of government action, and it implies something far more important than the idea of legality that requires official conduct to be in accordance with pre-fixed legal rules. Constitution constitution is the document that contains the basic and fundamental law of the nation, setting out the organization of the government and the principles of the society. Basic norm (or law) of the state; System of integration and organi...

business tips

1. Have a clear vision for your business and strive to achieve it. 2. Hire great people and give them ownership in the company. 3. Provide excellent customer service. 4. Establish yourself as an expert in your field. 5. Develop relationships with key suppliers, customers, and partners. 6. Keep track of your finances and invest in marketing and innovation. 7. Utilize digital platforms to reach a larger audience. 8. Take calculated risks and back yourself. 9. Continuously strive to improve your products and services. 10. Make customer satisfaction your priority.

Effects of Non-Registration

 Effects of Non-Registration The Companies Act, 2013 evidently highlights that the main essential for any organization to turn into a company is to get itself registered. A company cannot come into existence until it gets registered. But no such obligation has been imposed for firms by the Indian Partnership Act, 1932. If a firm is not registered it does not cease to be called as a firm, it still exists in the eyes law. Certainly, such a big advantage is not absolute but is subjected to a lot of limitations which we will study further. Non-registration of a firm simply means that the business skips the formalities of incorporation and ceases to exist in the eyes of the law. section 58 of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 deals with the procedure of incorporation. Likewise, the meaning of non-registration is the exact opposite of registration, meaning when a firm does not go through the procedure of incorporation or start carrying on activities without getting registered. Effects of ...