The Supreme Court has directed the Union government and ten States and Union Territories to fill vacant posts of the Chief Commissioner, Additional Commissioners and State Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities within four weeks. The Court also stressed that the draft accessibility rules under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016 must be finalised only after due consideration of suggestions received from stakeholders.
A Bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K.V. Viswanathan passed the directions while hearing a batch of petitions concerning the implementation of the RPwD Act and compliance with its November 8, 2024 judgment on accessibility. The Bench took note of a fresh status report filed by the Union government outlining the steps taken since the Court’s February 11, 2026 order.
The Centre informed the Court that the final gazette notification on accessibility standards for the built environment was ready and awaiting approval. It also submitted that draft rules relating to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) had already been published, while a draft report on assistive technologies, services and products had been prepared.
Appearing for the petitioners, counsel requested that stakeholders’ recommendations be examined before the draft rules are finalised to ensure a robust implementation framework. Agreeing with the submission, the Court observed that the accessibility rules must effectively advance the objectives of the RPwD Act and directed the Union government to meaningfully consider suggestions made by the petitioners and other stakeholders before issuing the final notification. It also ordered that copies of the status report and draft rules be circulated to all stakeholders for their response.
Addressing the issue of vacancies, the Bench noted that several States had failed to appoint State Commissioners under Section 79 of the RPwD Act. It directed Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu to appoint independent State Commissioners within four weeks, making it clear that these statutory posts should not be filled by officers holding additional charge.
The Court also took note of the submission that the office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities has remained without a regular appointee since 2019, with the Secretary of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities functioning in an additional capacity. Calling for strict compliance with Section 74 of the RPwD Act, the Bench directed the Union government to appoint the Chief Commissioner along with two Additional Commissioners within four weeks.
Further, the Court urged the Centre to address the legislative gap in enforcing penalties under Section 89 of the RPwD Act by incorporating an effective mechanism for recovery of fines while finalising the rules. It also directed that the proposed non-negotiable accessibility standards be notified within six months.
The matter has been listed on January 20, 2027, for monitoring compliance with the directions issued by the Court.
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