Supreme Court asks government to consider a law against ridicule of PwDs

The Supreme Court on Thursday suggested to the Centre to consider enacting a stringent law, on the lines of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, to penalise acts or remarks which demean or ridicule persons with disabilities (PwDs) or rare medical disorders.

“Why don’t you bring some stringent legislation against insulting specially-abled persons, on the lines of the SC/ST Atrocities Act?” Chief Justice Surya Kant asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre.

The court’s question was focused on the need to protect persons with disabilities from online abuse.

The Bench was hearing a petition filed by SMA Cure Foundation that deprecated remarks made by ‘India’s Got Latent’ host Samay Raina and other social media influencers against persons with disabilities. The petitioner Foundation, represented by senior advocate Aparajita Singh, works for persons affected by the rare Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) disorder.

The court spared the YouTube host and others with him from any punitive measures, but reminded that he owed a responsibility to the society.

The Bench decided to tap into their online popularity and use it to generate funds for the treatment of the persons with disabilities, particularly those who suffer from SMA.

The Bench observed them to have at least two programmes or shows in a month about the success stories of specially-abled persons, even inviting them to share the platform, until the next date of hearing, terming it their social penalty for making insensitive jokes about the disabled.