Mumbai: The Bombay High Court today referred the Maharashtra administration to enable the state advisory board for regulations regarding disabled individuals to operate within a month.
“For God’s sake, do it by then,” the high court claimed.
A cleavage bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar claimed, “It was alarming that the state government requires directives from the court to fulfill its statutory obligations.”
It articulated, “The state administration should not wait for proclamations from the bench to enforce the regulation, particularly developments ones.”
The government constituted the board under the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act in 2018, but it has been non-practical since 2020 as the bases of the non-authorized members have been forsaken.
The high court bench on Wednesday questioned the government’s ability to grant a time span for loading emptiness and creating the applicable board.
Additional government pleader Abhay Patki on Thursday claimed, “The board would be made functional in 15 days.”
“We will give you some more time than 15 days. For God’s sake, do it by then. We direct that the advisory board shall be constituted and made functional within a month from today,” the high court claimed.
The court was attending a public claim litigation carried out suo motu (on its own) regarding bollards placed on footpaths in Mumbai, making them unapproachable to persons with disabilities.
The bench reported that “If the state advisory board was functional, then courts would not be burdened with matters pertaining to the welfare of persons with disabilities.”
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“We could have relegated this matter also to the board. It could have taken all measures,” the court said.
It expressed, “The state government should not wait for court orders to implement laws, especially reformative ones.”
“Can there be anything more alarming that for an Act the court has to issue directions. This is your (government) obligation. For this also you need directions?” CJ Upadhyaya inquired.
The bench highlighted that “In July 2023, the Maharashtra government informed the Supreme Court, which was hearing a matter related to disabled persons, that the state advisory board had been constituted.”
The court claimed, “The board was indeed set up in 2018, but it has been non-functional since 2020 due to vacancies.”
“What is the use of merely constituting a board when it is not functional? We hope and expect that within 30 days the board shall be made functional in all respects,” the high court claimed, publishing the concern for a further hearing on August 14.
Published in The NDTV News
