Justice BV Nagarathna of the Supreme Court recently emphasized the need for a holistic approach to uplift children with disabilities in India.
Justice Nagarathna highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary engagement to foster transformative steps in protecting the rights of children with disabilities.
"Consultations such as these are supposed to give a direction to our steps by interdisciplinary engagement and re-invigorate our commitment to the goal. Undeniably, it has to build on a desire to take transformative steps," she said.
The Supreme Court judge was speaking at the closing session of the 9th Annual National Stakeholders Consultation on 'Protecting the Rights of Children Living with Disabilities' conducted by the Juvenile Justice Committee of the Supreme Court.
She proposed that each High Court establish a dedicated website to address the needs of these children and facilitate the implementation of relevant legal frameworks.
“Accessibility, friendly information dissemination, and budgeting for these needs should be taken seriously,” Justice Nagarathna urged, calling for immediate steps from High Courts to form accessibility committees and help desks for disabled individuals attending court.
A recurring theme throughout the discussions was the “invisibilizing effect” of intersectional vulnerabilities, particularly affecting children of certain castes, socio-economic backgrounds, and genders.
Justice Nagarathna underscored the importance of designing positive commitments to counteract these detriments and outlined several actionable steps that need to be taken to support children’s overall development and fulfillment.
Policy and Legal Frameworks: Every state government must take necessary measures to ensure accessibility and inclusion for children with disabilities, removing barriers that hinder their rights.
State Action Plans: The development of state action plans for protecting children with disabilities should be jointly reviewed and monitored by state authorities and Juvenile Justice committees.
National Roadmap: A national roadmap should be adopted, informed by these state plans and the insights from the national consultation, to ensure the advancement of protections for children with disabilities.
Additionally, it was stressed that all schemes for children with disabilities should be prominently displayed on the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) website and state legal services websites.
Further, Justice Nagarathna called for the child protection systems to be more inclusive and accessible, advocating for nurturing family environments for children with disabilities. She encouraged High Court judges to lead by example, interpreting cases involving these children in ways that guide state and national policies.