Make all courtrooms disabled-friendly: Bombay HC

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has asked the court registry to take necessary steps to make every courtroom disabled-friendly. The court in its order said that even if the building is a heritage structure, it should not violate a disabled person’s fundamental right of entering court.

Justice Gautam Patel was hearing a civil suit filed by Harish Shah against Jayaben Shah. Ms Jayaben’s lawyer had filed the application before the court under the civil procedure code 1908 and requested to record her statement before Mr Shah. The court had accepted her application in the month of February.

Justice Patel passed the order about making court disabled-friendly on Wednesday when a 94-year-old wheelchair-bound lady was called in his court for recording her statement but due to her old age, she was able to neither climb the staircase nor reach the witness box. The court then requested the registry to shift her deposition to courtroom number 46, which is accessible by wheelchair. The court on April 26 recorded her statement.

While hearing the matter, the court observed, “I see no reason at all why every single courtroom in this building should not be reasonably accessible to those with a mobility impairment or difficulty. While I readily accept the need for heritage conservation, I cannot accept — and I imagine no court can, either — that heritage conservation should impede the access to court of those with physical disabilities.”