disability rights

The recent controversy involving Puja Khedkar, who allegedly faked her disability and caste to obtain benefits, has ignited a debate on the reservations granted to persons with disabilities (PwDs). The issue gained further traction when a former chief executive officer of NITI Aayog tweeted that reservations for PwDs need to be reviewed. Although he later clarified that he was referring only to mental disabilities (thereby drawing an unnecessary and baseless wedge between physical and mental disabilities), his statement, along with similar comments from other civil servants, raises troubling questions about societal attitudes towards disabilities and reservation policies.

Structured negotiation is a collaborative and solution-driven dispute resolution technique which is increasingly being used as an alternative to litigation. It typically involves inviting the defaulting service provider to the negotiation table and impressing upon them the benefits of complying with social welfare legislations. While its utility pervades sectors, structured negotiation has been most effective in settling disability rights cases in the United States, a development that one of us, Ms. Feingold, has played no small part in ensuring.

The government of India has recently proposed amendments to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Rules, ostensibly to tighten the norms related to disability certification. The timing of this move is difficult to miss. We are still embroiled in the Puja Khedkar controversy as it has reignited the debate over the potential misuse of disability to gain untoward advantages. While an allegedly fake disability certificate is not the only reason Khedkar has found herself in the middle of scrutiny, the disabled community are having to face the brunt of the backlash that has followed this incident.

Since the declaration of the revised National Eligibility cum Entrance Test -Under Graduate (NEET-UG) result on July 26, courts across the country have witnessed a spurt of litigation by persons with disabilities. The stories of these persons typically have a common script. They appeared for the NEET-UG examinations based on their disability certificate in the persons with disabilities (PwD) category. They cleared the exam and got allotted a college. Thereafter, they were made to undergo a medical assessment by the National Medical Council (NMC), in line with its information bulletin for the NEET-UG examination. This assessment found them ineligible. The finding of disqualification often lacks any reason and is merely based on the person’s disability being above a particular percentage.