During the hearing, the Court instructed the Registrar General to explore the possibility of having an interpreter present for High Court proceedings. On Thursday, the Delhi High Court issued an order for the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to arrange a meeting with movie producers, OTT platforms, television broadcasters, and other relevant parties to establish guidelines that will allow individuals with hearing and visual disabilities to fully experience movies.
Justice Prathiba M Singh also directed the government to submit the proposed guidelines to the Court for review.
“Discussion to be held to discuss the manner in which the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act and Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules as well as the circular issued by the Government of India is to be implemented. The ministry may frame guidelines in this regard and submit the draft guidelines before the court,” the order said.
A group of lawyers, law students, and individuals with hearing and visual impairments filed a petition requesting that the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act and RPwD Rules be enforced, so that those with disabilities can fully enjoy movies on OTT platforms and in theatres.
The Court previously directed authorities to consider implementing close subtitles and audio description features for Shahrukh Khan’s Pathaan during a hearing in January. Today, the Court was informed that the order had been followed and that Pathaan was now available on Amazon Prime.
During the hearing, Advocate Rahul Bajaj proposed various suggestions that could be implemented to make similar features available for all movies on OTT platforms and in theatres. After considering these suggestions, the Court concluded that the provisions of the RPwD Act and Rules must be implemented immediately.
The Court also ordered the Registrar General to explore the possibility of having an interpreter present for High Court proceedings. The case has been adjourned until September 26th. As a result, it directed that a meeting be held to develop guidelines.
It also directed government officials to consider having a sign language interpreter present at the meeting so that hearing-impaired people could understand what was going on.
