Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2012

The Welfare Bill for Persons with Disabilities should be comprehensive , exhaustive , futuristic , and cover all loop hole and other existing laws in a very holistic manner . Govt. of India has came with a New and Innovative  Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2012 .

The Bill secures for persons with disabilities individual autonomy, including the freedom to make one’s own choices, and independence of persons; non-discrimination; full and effective participation and inclusion in society; equality of opportunity and equality between men and women, among other things ; to enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life and have the right to equal recognition everywhere as persons before the law.

The Bill ensures that any disqualification on the grounds of disability prescribed in any legislation, rule, notification, order, bye-law, regulation, custom or practice that has the effect of depriving any person with disability of legal capacity shall not be legally enforceable from the date of enforcement of the proposed Act.

Further Bill ensures right, on an equal basis with others, to own or inherit property; control their financial affairs; obtain access to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of financial credit, and not to be arbitrarily deprived of their property.

The legal capacity of a person with disability shall not be questioned or denied, irrespective of the degree and extent of support, by reason of accessing support to exercise legal capacity. When a conflict of interest arises between a person providing support and a person with disability in a particular financial, property or other economic transaction, then such supporting person shall abstain from providing support to the person with disability in that transaction

All persons with disabilities shall have the right to live in the community with choices equal to others. The appropriate government and local authorities shall take all appropriate administrative and other measures to protect persons with disabilities from being subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Importantly, the Bill bars any person with disability to be subject to any medical procedure that leads to or could lead to Infertility without their free and informed consent. It proposes hefty fine and imprisonment up to 10 years for violation. All establishments will also provide medical and life insurance to their employees with disabilities on an equal basis with others.

The Bill says that every child with benchmark disability, of the age of 6 to 18, shall have the right to free education; and all government institutions of higher education and all higher education institutions receiving aid from the government shall reserve up to 5 per cent of the total seats in each course for persons with benchmark disabilities, which include physical, and mental disabilities and leprosy cured.

The Bill recommends the setting up of a National Commission for Persons with Disabilities to formulate regulations that lay down the standards of accessibility for the physical environment, transportation, information and communications, including appropriate technologies and systems at National level . Similar bodies will be set up at the State and District-levels. The Commission will take up issues that violate the provisions of the Act. 

But still Bill should also put attention towards the accessibility aspect of Bill in all fronts like :

The Law must be framed in way to provide single window for all possible problems .

There is no synchrony between the various legislations ( The Persons with Disabilities Act , 1995 ; The Rehabilitation Council of India Act 1992 ; National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism , Cerebral Plasy , Mental Retardation & Multiple Disabilities Act , 1999 ; The Mental Health Act , 1987 ; ) that will impact the lives of persons with disability , and complete dissonance between the proposed Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill and the proposed Mental Health Care Bill “

To provide the Persons with disability can and will , effectively participate in political , public affair on the equall basis with people , including the rights and opportunity for persons with disability to vote & to be elected , form and join organizationz of persons with disability to represent people with disability at Local , Regional , National as well as International level . Reasonable accommodation shall be provided in all cases where persons with disabilities exercise their Right to Franchise .

This must be based on “ All Rights of all persons with disabilities with a Framework for Accountability . "