Law and behold, a blind lawyer!

Henna Achhpal

“I start my day at around six and spend time reading on my net book — for work or leisure — before getting ready for work. Breakfast is my most important meal of the day because I sometimes tend to miss my lunch due to work load. There’s no fixed time to reach work, it’s my own office! No two days are the same – on some I may have a client visiting me, on others I may be at court all day. I don’t like to go out on a work day but sometimes end up going for a movie with friends. I also enjoy theatre and travelling.” Sounds like the life of just another urban person? It is, the only bit we’d like to add here that 46-year-old Kanchan Pamnani is visually impaired.

Living with her mother in Malabar Hill, Mumbai, Kanchan was born with low vision which resulted in complete loss of vision over time. She has been visually impaired for over ten years but seems to take this with complete nonchalance, describing her day as if it’s a piece of cake to get through. “It isn’t,” she counters us, “but I didn’t study so much and work so hard to sit at home and cry just because I lost my eyesight.” We note her eloquence and safely guess that it helps her immensely in her profession.

Our search for fascination in this ‘simple’ life Kanchan claims to lead, brings us to her office in the Colaba area. It’s just the week day morning she’s told us about, and she’s making her way from the cab into the building. With a little help, she finds her way to the gate and then takes it on her own. Once in the lift, she tells the liftman, “Eighth floor.” The liftman shuts the door and starts counting, “1…2…3…” Once we reach the first floor, he says, “Here you are, eighth floor!” As she exits, she wishes him a good day and tells us, “It’s our daily joke!”

On her phone while walking toward her office, we can hear her saying, “I dialed your number by mistake but I’m glad to know that your number hasn’t changed in years!” As she catches up with the friend, she shuffles her keys for a few seconds and opens the door. Going around the disorderly room, typical of old law firms in Mumbai, she switches on the lights, air conditioner and settles in her chair ending the chat with a promise to call back soon. We are nearly astounded at this routine, imagining what this multi-tasking would be like blindfolded.

“The whole world takes care of me, you saw for yourself, as soon as I got out of the cab, two men on the street helped me, cabbies are usually friendly too.” But doesn’t it get difficult to trust people, we ask. “It’s simple,” she exclaims, “the world works on trust. You put your hand out there and someone will reach out to help you. If you’re going to constantly doubt and fear getting deceived, you won’t reach anywhere. You must trust the environment around you and have faith in God.”

We’re intrigued at her constant insistence that hers is a ‘simple’ story, and quiz her about the big bad world of law. Surely she doesn’t expect special treatment from her co-councils, judges and clients. “Law is the best profession; after all Lady Justice is blind — the court is one place where blindness is understood!” On a serious note, she adds, “As long as you’re ready and prepared with your work, no one can say anything to you.”

Kanchan wasn’t born blind, and her successful career despite the gradual loss of vision is a story of grit. “I was never able to see clearly. Even when I had low vision, I would just make out if you’re fair or dark, not tell your features. Losing vision wasn’t a sudden, overnight change that I had to adjust to.” She continues, “To me you’re a ghost.. just a voice coming at me! You could be sitting nude for all I care. I tell my colleagues that they can wear whatever they want, I wouldn’t know! Though the day we have to meet a client or go to court — they better come dressed formally.”

Much has been written about the ‘heroics’ of this blind advocate and solicitor at M/S Pamnani and Pamnani, but not many have described her wit and humour first hand. Also, it’s not like her determined multitasking doesn’t have its low points. “There are times when I feel down, when work is not done on time, when I lose a case or when a client is yelling, but I’m never low because of my inability to see. I sometimes get irritated because everything is slower. The speed that I had as a sighted person, it’s not the same anymore. Otherwise, the special softwares on my phone and computer help me tremendously. (Kanchan uses ‘Talks’ on her smart phone and ‘JAWS’ – Job Applications with Speech, on her PC besides audio books to read.) I try not to depend on anyone else as much as I can. If I wanted that, I would get married!”

(An initiative of Trinayani, a nonprofit NGO founded by Ritika Sahni, the THIS ABILITY articles celebrates the intriguing lives of persons with disabilities. Trinayani works towards Disability Awareness and Support, communicating through workshops/seminars, print, radio, films and other electronic media.  Visit www.trinayani.org or write to us at trinayani.contact@gmail.com)

The Articles in the Series “This-Ability” are copyrighted material of Trinayani.  This Blog is carrying the series on the request of Ritika Sahni, Founder Trinayani.  Any queries or request to publish these articles please contact Ritika Sahni. The owner of this Blog is not responsible for any copyright infringement

Nilesh Singit

Poll officials to help disabled

MUMBAI: The city’s voting infrastructure is ill-equipped to cater to differently-abled persons in Thursday’s civic elections.

Election officials admitted that 28 of the 8,378 voting booths are on the first floor and are inaccessible by lift or ramps. While electronic voting machines have been made Braille-friendly , visually-impaired persons will still need assistance in matching candidate symbols and numbers before casting their votes.

“It is unfortunate that the lists of candidates will not be in Braille. It doesn’t speak highly of our democracy that visually-impaired persons will need assistance to vote,” said Raman Shankar who heads the National Association for the Blind (NAB), pointing out that such assistance was open to manipulation. Estimating that there are 4,000 visually-impaired voters in the city, he said NAB had been approached during the parliamentary and state assembly elections as well as the Alibaug and Pen polls to supply Braille stickers and candidate lists.

Physically disabled voters and incapacitated senior citizens will be inconvenienced in areas like Marine Lines, Mohammed Ali Road, parts of Chembur, Mankhurd and Govandi , where booths do not have disabled-friendly access.

“The approach to disabled persons as an electorate is apathetic . The issues never make it to political manifestos and voting infrastructure reflects this apathy,” said disabled rights activist Nilesh Singit, who had championed for his booth in Matunga to be on the ground floor during the last state elections.

Disabled persons point out that governance machinery remains apathetic despite judicial orders demanding inclusive facilities. The Supreme Court had directed states to ensure ramps at booths and Disability Rights Group had filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court for implementation of the provisions.

The authorities insisted there were constraints to making areas disabled-friendly in highly-congested areas. “Most booths have access. There will be assistants at the 28 booths that are on the first floor without lifts,” said S S Shinde, joint municipal commissioner in-charge of elections . He said officials will assist visually-impaired persons with lists in booths too.

Madhavi Rajadhyaksha, Times of India, Bombay

HC to rlys:Care for the differently-abled

Urvi Mahajani

Asking the Railways to be sensitive towards the needs of the differently-abled, the Bombay high court on Monday asked the body to address two primary issues immediately — disabled-friendly toilets and ticket windows of a lower level to make it accessible for a wheelchair-bound person.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by India Centre for Human Rights, an NGO, in 2007, seeking easy access for differently-abled persons to the railway platforms in the city.

A division bench of chief justices Mohit Shah and Roshan Dalvi has asked the court-appointed committee to devise a plan for implementing the 1998 government resolution which recommends establishing of disabled-friendly toilets and lower level ticket window at all city stations.

In October 2011, the HC had appointed a committee – one from the petitioner NGO, an officer from the accounts department, one engineer and three officers each from the Western and Central Railways – to come up with solutions for problems faced by the differently-abled.

“Without telling you (Railways), your officers should address the issues. You know your own recommendation since 1998. Why should someone else point it out to you?” asked chief justice.

The 1998 GR was pointed out by Kranti LC, advocate for the NGO, saying that the Railways have not been taking the initiative for making the platforms disabled-friendly.
Kranti pointed out that some of their NGO’s members had taken a survey of 104 stations. “Only 3% of toilets are accessible to the disabled,” he said. He further pointed out that in their July 2011 affidavit, they had suggested that slopes for access to platforms were too steep at several stations and this had not been rectified.

Beni Chatterji and Suresh Kumar – counsels for the Western railways – said that the NGO should point out the deficiencies to them and they would then take necessary actions. To this, chief justice frowned and said, “Why should anyone point out deficiencies? That’s why we have constituted the committee. What have you been doing?”

Chatterji assured the court that this time they would definitely look into their grievances. The chief justice suggested that Chatterji remain present in the next committee meeting.

Directing the railways to give priorities to the issues of toilets and lower ticket windows, the court has asked the railways to submit an Action Taken Report on the next date of hearing on March 1.

DNA, Mumbay

FILE PLAN IN 4 WEEKS: HC flays railways for ignoring disabled

Rosy Sequeira TNN

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday lambasted the railways for not implementing a 1998 circular for providing general commuter amenities, including separate toilets and low-height ticket windows, at every station for the disabled.

Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Roshan Dalvi were hearing a PIL filed in 2007 by NGO Disability Rights Initiative for making railway facilities accessible for the physically challenged. The NGO’s advocate, Kranti L C, said though by its circular dated December 30, 1998, the railways was to provide one accessible toilet and one ticket window at every station, it has taken a stand that it is not possible. The Western Railway (WR) advocate Beni Chatterji said that the circular was not pointed out before. “If you have your own norms, then why do you need someone else to tell you?” Justice Shah asked Chatterji.

Kranti also pointed out that additional solicitor general Darius Khambatta called a meeting, on the court’s instruction, but even his recommendations that the railways should provide the amenities at every station as a start was not complied with. Chatterji said the NGO must give details of the deficiencies. Kranti said the last audit in May 2011 shows that the basic facilities are missing at the railway stations. When Chatterji sought the court’s order to have a railway officer to assist a committee appointed by the court, the judges were perturbed at his request. “Why do you want the court to pass such orders? This is a bureaucratic approach,” said Justice Shah. The railways administration has been directed to submit a plan for implementation of amenities within four weeks.

TOI

Govt slow to clear hurdles in making city disabled-friendly Despite Law, Little Effort Made To Make Buildings, Buses, Trains Accessible

Mahima Sikand | TNN

Well-meaning laws have seldom changed the ground reality in India, and when it comes to disability legislations, things are no different. Despite a legal mandate to create friendlier infrastructure for the country’s 70 million people with disabilities, governments have done precious little. In Mumbai too, the design reform has been painfully slow in the coming.

Activists claim that almost all government buildings in the city disregard the needs of people with disabilities. ADAPT, a group working on accessibility rights for disabled people, conducted an audit of government buildings and facilities and discovered shocking lapses everywhere.

The Bombay high court did not have a disabled-friendly toilet until 2005, when some orthopedically challenged litigants brought the issue to its attention. Barring a few big names like JJ Hospital, most government hospitals do not have ramps at the entrance or elevators inside. And those that do have elevators do not have Braille buttons in them for visually impaired people. There are less than a dozen disabled-friendly public toilets in the city. The law requires audio-visual traffic signals for the benefit of blind and deaf people; yet, only the signal outside the office of the National Association of the Blind in Worli has the facility.

“When the government is flouting all regulations, it obviously has no right to expect private players to toe the line,” says Dr Anita Prabhu, co-chair of ADAPT.

No wonder, then, that the buildings that have come up over the last 15 years do not conform to the law. “It is understandably difficult to modify existing structures but what is the excuse for the constructions that have come up after 1995, when guidelines were legally mandated,” says Nilesh Singit, a disability rights activist.

Activists point out that the inability to commute is the biggest handicap for a physically challenged person, restricting his movement and his potential. “Today, the law requires 3% reservations for people with disabilities. But, even if someone gets a job, can he truly manage it if travelling to the workplace is such a challenge,” says Javed Abidi, a disability rights activist and director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP).

In 2009, hearing a PIL, the Bombay high court directed Central Railway and Western Railway to work out ways to make stations and trains accessible to people with disabilities. Two years later, barring a few major stations, most do not even have basic ramps. “Despite the court order, it is still impossible for a disabled person to travel by a local,” says Nilesh Singit, one of the litigants in the case.

Most railway stations in the city have over-bridges to enter and to travel between platforms, which make them inaccessible for wheelchair users. Even if the platform is somehow reached, it is impossible to board a train because of the difference in level and because of the gap between the platform and the train. “The authorities need to flush the trains with the platforms. This is a difficult task since different stations are of different height, but this is where planning would help. The Delhi Metro is a good example. Sadly, even the newer stations in Mumbai have no provisions for the physically challenged,” says Prabhu.

Even buses score dismally in this regard. In 2003, the BEST acquired 30 buses, which it claimed were disabled-friendly. Today, only a few of these are running. “When we were conducting an audit of BEST buses, so many of my colleagues who are disabled told me that it was the first time they had entered a bus. Almost no one in a wheelchair has ever travelled in a local train. That’s how bad the situation is,” says Prabhu.

Clearings Access

Under the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, the government and local authorities must

• Install auditory signals at traffic signals on public roads for visually handicapped people
• Create curb cuts and slopes on pavements for easy access of wheelchair users
• Engraving on zebra crossings for the blind and for people with low vision Have Braille symbols and auditory signals in elevators Engraving on the edges of railway platforms for the blind and for people with low vision
• Devise appropriate symbols of disability Install warning signals at appropriate places
• Build ramps in public buildings
• Adapt toilets for wheelchair users

Times Of India, Bombay

Subhash Vashisth, Delhi High Court Lawyer and founder of the Dooars Institute for the Disabled speaks to Bar & Bench

August 19, 2011

Bar & Bench spoke to one of the leading Disability Rights Activist, Subhash Vashisth, who is a Delhi based lawyer. He is a Consultant at the All India Confederation of the Blind (AICB) and has founded the Dooars Institute of Disabled at Jaigaon, Jalpaiguri.  His passion and compassion for the protection of the rights of the disabled people is reflected in the following words, which he has shared with us, in the due course of the interview: “Persons with disabilities are persons first and deserve an equal respect and acceptance from their fellow beings and opportunities in life. We need to break the myth and misperception that persons with disabilities lack capacity. A person with disability can excel like anyone else if given an enabling environment and there are several examples to prove this. God has been very kind to us that as lawyers, we can do our bit for the cause of disability rights. Let us not lose on this opportunity!”  

With such burning determination in his gut, Vashisth tells that his main motivation to work for the cause of the disabled was his own younger sister, who had acquired hearing impairment at a very early age, and right through his childhood, he had grown up as a guardian to his sister. He said that right from accessing to quality education, to gaining stable employment were full of barriers and it was then that he realized the innumerable shortcomings in the system.   Quipping that his family has always been supportive of his various endeavours in the field of disability rights, he said that the major hurdles he is being faced in carrying on with his agenda is an utter lack of awareness, even among lawyers, about not only the rights of the disabled, but also regarding their capabilities as human beings.   On being asked as to how the AICB is making lasting impact on the society, he highlighted that his role in the organization has been limited to the advocacy work for the rights of persons with vision impairment to facilitate redressal of their grievances and injustices and securing their rights through use of advocacy tools including judicial interventions. He says that he saw a tremendous faith that is reposed by the blind persons and their family members in the leadership of AICB.

Vashisth also expressed his faith in the organization saying that, in association with its affiliates and other national organizations, it is bound to reach every last blind person in the country to empower him to unlock his potential.   Speaking about the needs of the persons with disabilities, he said that they have no ‘special’ needs as such and their needs are as normal as of their non-disabled counterparts. Hence tagging their needs as ‘special’ would be wrong. Also, he expressed disgust on the prejudices and misconceptions prevailing in the society about the abilities of the disabled. He averred that these mental blocks are the biggest impediments to the process of unfolding the immense capacity of the persons with disabilities – and particularly the persons with vision impairment – to be able to contribute to the national development. He said that the first step in this regards should be to acknowledge their abilities and to give them a nourishing and an enabling environment so that they can realize their full potential.   When asked about the hurdles faced by him in setting up the Dooars Institute of Disabled in Jaigaon, he said that at the time when he established this organization, he was serving the Indian Air Force. Seeing that a few hearing impaired children were begging and were being mistreated, he took the initiative of doing something for the children, spoke to his colleague Ram Prakash Mishra, approached the parents of the children and finally founded the organization in 1998-99. As security issues did not permit people working for Air Force to mingle with the residents of the hamlet, he and his colleague bid adieu to their government job and decided to give their full time commitment to the project.

They were also faced with language problems which was soon overcome by the help of the local volunteers. Then he spoke of the financial hurdles, the governmental apathy and bureaucracy in helping them with the funds. But then, they found respite in the local donors and volunteer special educators, who really did help them leverage their potentials.  Speaking at length about the Persons with Disabilities Act and the governmental interventions in dealing with the issue, he said that the Act and various other laws like CPC, CrPC, etc., need serious modifications, so that they are on the same page with the UN Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He emphasized the need of a rights-based approach rather than the welfare-based approach, in dealing with the persons with disabilities.   He also highlighted the dismal amount of pensions and allowances being given to the disabled, when the fact is that the living expenses of the disabled are more than that of their non-disabled counterparts. The situation that many of the disabled do not even possess the disability certificate, which serves as their basic pass to access to the various schemes, is pathetic.   Speaking of the challenges in the legal front, he disregarded the sad state of affairs that disabled judges and lawyers are not being seen as competent people to be part of the Judiciary.

The Court buildings are not according to the universal designs and the Court Libraries are not disabled friendly either. Also, the disabled litigants find it very hard to afford the court fees and access justice.  Speaking about the government-NGO partnerships, he said that though the synergy out of such partnerships are proving to be useful, many times the government is going apathetical, shifting burdens on the NGOs. He also highlighted the role of law firms, law students and legal educational institutions in conducting awareness programmes and campaigns to make the environment disabled-friendly. He said that amendments to the existing laws as such is not required, if the existing laws are effectively implemented in their true letter and spirit. He said that law firms have not been specifically friendly to the disabled, as the prevailing attitude is, “Why take a lawyer with disabilities and invite problems when there are so many non-disabled law graduates available for hire!”   Lastly, speaking about law students, he said that though they need not fully devote themselves to the cause of human rights, they should certainly take up certain cases which need special attention, in order that they serve their society.

Bar & Bench News Network

Judges to assess capacity of intellectually disabled witnesses

By Jennifer Hough

JUDGES will be given the power to assess whether a person with an intellectual disability has the "capacity" for decision-making, or to be a reliable witness in a court of law.  Under proposed capacity legislation, it is hoped that legal loopholes whereby people with an intellectual disability are often deemed "incapable" of making decisions, or giving evidence, will be closed.  The laws — dating back to the Lunacy Act of 1871 — create barriers for disabled people on a wide range of issues such as access to justice, medical treatment, control of money and the right to marry.  Submissions to the joint committee on Justice, Defence and Equality relating to the promised legislation must be received by Friday.  Campaigning group Inclusion Ireland said it receives many queries about problems arising from the lack of a modern legal framework.

"Under current law, parents, carers and service providers have no legal authority to take necessary decisions on behalf of adults with disabilities. Hardly a week goes by without this problem being raised by a parent, family member, professional or service provider and, more frequently, by the person themselves," the group’s submission states.  "The complete absence of any guidance on how to assess capacity for this group of people, who may not have capacity to make decisions, and/or may not be able to communicate their decision, means that decisions that need to be taken are sometimes not taken, or that decisions are taken that may involve an infringement of the person’s rights." 

Inclusion Ireland said decisions are often made for people because the family or service provider feels the person lacks decision-making capacity, without attempting to find out what that capacity may be.  "They may have a paternalistic view, based on the assumption that people with greater intellectual ability know better."  There is concern this view could continue, however, as judges who are assessing people will be relying on medical evidence and definitions.

In Britain, specialist judges are put in place to carry out this function, but here it is understood it will become a role of the high court.  The inadequacies of the law in serious issues such as abuse have been highlighted many times.  In one case, a 23-year-old woman, Laura Kelly, was prohibited from giving evidence about her alleged sexual assault by a judge who deemed she did not have the capacity to testify in court. Legislation has been signalled for some years and is required to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Paralysed student denied admission

A science student with “locomotor disability” has moved the Bombay high court seeking to get admission for MBBS. Nachiket Ramane, diagnosed with ‘Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy’ (DMD) and confined to a wheel chair, got into the reserved merit list in the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test for medicine. Ramane, who has been certified as 65%permanently disabled by JJ hospital, had given his junior college exams with the assistance of a writer.

Ramane wants the court to intervene and review the guidelines for admission so that he could get admission under the three per-cent reservation for “handicap quota”. Ramane’s lawyer Jamshed Mistry contended that Ramane was found ineligible following the medical examination even though only 11 out of the 18 seats under the category were filled.  Candidates are required to undergo a medical examination before a Medical Board after results are declared. 

The disqualification implied that they had found the disability to be not between 50 to 70%, the petition said.  Ramane pointed to a  Gujarat high court order whereby a person with a locomotor disability of both the upper and lower limbs can be eligible for admission to a post graduate course in health sciences (MD). Then why not to a graduation course such as MBBS, he asked.

Hindustan Times

Paralysed student denied admission

A science student with “locomotor disability” has moved the Bombay high court seeking to get admission for MBBS. Nachiket Ramane, diagnosed with ‘Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy’ (DMD) and confined to a wheel chair, got into the reserved merit list in the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test for medicine. Ramane, who has been certified as 65%permanently disabled by JJ hospital, had given his junior college exams with the assistance of a writer.

Ramane wants the court to intervene and review the guidelines for admission so that he could get admission under the three per-cent reservation for “handicap quota”. Ramane’s lawyer Jamshed Mistry contended that Ramane was found ineligible following the medical examination even though only 11 out of the 18 seats under the category were filled.  Candidates are required to undergo a medical examination before a Medical Board after results are declared. 

The disqualification implied that they had found the disability to be not between 50 to 70%, the petition said.  Ramane pointed to a  Gujarat high court order whereby a person with a locomotor disability of both the upper and lower limbs can be eligible for admission to a post graduate course in health sciences (MD). Then why not to a graduation course such as MBBS, he asked.

Hindustan Times

Berkeley-based non-profit sues CNN.com for not captioning online videos

By Josh Richman, Oakland Tribune

A Berkeley-based non-profit sued global media and entertainment giant Time Warner on Wednesday in Alameda County Superior Court, claiming CNN.com discriminates against the deaf or hard-of-hearing by not providing any captioning of its online videos. Disability Rights Advocates is representing the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness and three individual plaintiffs in what they call a first-of-its- kind lawsuit. The Oakland firm of Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian is also representing the plaintiffs.

"Time Warner’s refusal to provide captioning of its videos is astounding given how central the Internet is in today’s communication environment," DRA attorney Anna Levine said in a news release. "The lack of captioned videos means that millions of people with hearing loss will continue to be denied equal access to video news content on CNN.com." The lawsuit alleges violations of California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act and Disabled Persons Act. A CNN spokeswoman said Wednesday that because  the company has not yet been served with the lawsuit, it won’t comment.

Hayward resident Daniel Jacob, 36, is among the three individual plaintiffs. "The era of waiting for the 6 o’clock news is over," he said in the news release. "I simply want an equal opportunity to view news videos on CNN.com‘s website at my convenience like most people can."  DRA said CNN.com viewership rises dramatically when breaking news becomes available. For example, according to its own website, CNN.comreceived 67 million global page views in a single day, March 12, after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Almost every user who visited CNN.comthat day watched a video; according to its own website, CNN.com received 60 million global video starts that day.

The Hearing Loss Association of America reports that about 36 million American adults report some degree of hearing loss; about 1 million are functionally deaf. Federal law already requires that broadcast and cable television content be closed captioned.

MercuryNews.com

All hosps in state to test babies for disabilities?

Mumbai: Every baby born in a hospital across the state will be tested for disabilities if the state government and the Bombay high court have their way. Maharashtra advocate general Ravi Kadam informed a division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice S J Vazifdar on Friday that the state would issue instructions to all hospitals about screening new-born babies. Every hospital-—public as well as private-—will have to conduct the tests on the baby. Data about the test
results would be maintained by the government to indicate the incidence of disabilities. The instructions would be issued in the form of a circular by April 13, said the high court.   The assurance came during a special hearing of a bunch of petitions relating to the issues faced by people with disabilities.—including reservation in government jobs, allocation of Mhada houses and guidelines for writers for disabled students during examinations.

“Screening tests would help identify visual, auditory and motor disabilities in new-born babies and would aid early medical intervention,” said Dr Bhushan Punani of the Blind People’s Association. Move to enable new-borns welcomed

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government’s proposal to screen all new-borns at hospitals came in the Bombay high court during a hearing of a petition on issues faced by the disabled—including reservation in government jobs, allocation of Mhada houses and guidelines for writers for disabled students during examinations.

Activists welcomed the broad sweep of the rule that seeks to include every big and small hospital across the state. “If the rules are implemented effectively, the major beneficiaries would be babies born in rural hospitals, who otherwise would have had no access to such tests,” said advocate Kanchan Pamnani.

The court has also focused its attention on the reported absence of medical problems of the disabled in the MBBS syllabus. “When a parent takes a disabled child to the doctor, except for ordering a slew of tests there is no proper diagnosis of what ails the kid,” said an activist. Advocate Uday Warunjikar, counsel for one of the petitioners, said that teaching and sensitizing would-be doctors would not only help children with disabilities but also make the medical practitioners careful while issuing disability certificates. The high court has asked that notices be issued to the Medical Council of India so that it can respond to the issue.

Dr Y Amdekar, dean of Wadia Children’s Hospital, said that a clinical screening of children is conducted at birth. “At birth, doctors may be able to say that an organ is in place but how well it works may be known only after a few weeks. Hence, a new-born screening that includes a blood test is useful. A free blood test to screen for serious disorders that could result in mental retardation is being offered in Goa.’’ Dr Amdekar, added that matters of cost and accessibility need to be looked into.

Meanwhile, the high court has asked the state and the committee appointed by it to identify gadgets, devices and software to be provided to its visually challenged employees. The judges have also directed the state to submit a list of the number of posts that could be made available for the disabled under the 3% reservation policy if it was required to have been calculated from February 1996. This was the date when the Persons with Disabilities Act came into force. In a related development, the high court has told the state to issue uniform guidelines for writers who are used by visually challenged students during examinations.

Shibu Thomas TNN With inputs from Malathy Iyer)

Tests for disabilities in new-borns must : Bombay High Court

 

HC ORDER State asked to make screening tests mandatory in hospitals across Maharashtra and maintain data related to tests

Hospitals across Maharashtra will have to carry out compulsory screening tests to check disabilities in new-born babies.  The Bombay high court on Friday directed the state government to make it mandatory to conduct tests on babies to check for disabilities and also maintain data of such tests.  A division bench of chief justice Mohit Shah and justice SJ Vazifdar was hearing a clutch of petitions filed by NGOs seeking implementation of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunity and Protection of Rights and Full Participation Act), 1995, which reserves 3% jobs in government departments for the differently-abled.

Advocate general Ravi Kadam assured the Bombay high court that the state will direct all state government-run hospitals, municipal corporations/councils and zilla parishads, as well as private hospitals to conduct tests and collate data on a quarterly basis. The court has asked the government to issue a notification to this effect by April 30.  The high court has asked the court-appointed committee to identify gadgets/devices/software required for visually impaired employees, within two weeks. Once this process is complete, government officers, including principal secretaries of the social welfare department and finance department, and representatives of blind associations, have been asked to sort out pricing issues.

“Within two months, it should be possible for the state [government] to find requirements of visually impaired and software required by them so as to enable them [government] to finalise budget to procure it [software],“ the high court said. Advocates Uday Warunjikar and Kanchan Pamnani said the government has still not cleared the backlog in appointing visually impaired as required under the Act and no recruitment of the visually impaired had happened in the past three years.  The HC has directed the state to submit the number of vacant posts, which would be available for the differently-abled under the reservation policy after 1996, when the Act came into force.

Northwestern’s use of Google apps discriminates against the blind, federal complaint says

Blind students and faculty face barriers because programs do not effectively turn text into synthesized speech or Braille, complaint alleges

Northwestern University is targeted in a federal complaint filed Tuesday that alleges blind students and faculty face discrimination by the university’s use of Google e-mail and other programs.

The complaint, filed by the National Federation of the Blind with the U.S. Department of Justice‘s Civil Rights Division, asks that Northwestern stop using Google Apps because they do not effectively turn text on a computer screen into synthesized speech or Braille. "Each of these applications contains significant accessibility barriers," according to the complaint, and therefore blind students "are denied the benefits of the technology that Northwestern has adopted."

The group alleges that the university is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The complaint also names New York University, and asks that all universities using the Google Apps for Education programs stop doing so.  Chris Danielsen, a spokesman for the blind federation, said the group knows of one Northwestern student affected by the use of Google.  "The university either needs to suspend using Google Apps until it is accessible, or if it doesn’t become accessible, do not use it," Danielsen said.

Northwestern adopted Google Apps for Education in 2007, and students use Google programs for their e-mail, calendar, documents and instant messaging.  Danielsen said, however, that Google Apps are often incompatible with software that turns written words into speech, and blind users are then unable to know what to type in a given field or whether a control is a button or a drop-down menu. In Google’s document program, for example, the text is not always audible, so users cannot review what they wrote.

Northwestern University spokesman Alan Cubbage said the campus received the complaint Monday. "It will be reviewed by our (information technology) and our attorney’s offices sometime soon," Cubbage said. He said the university had not heard from the Justice Department on the matter.

Google said in a statement that company officials met last week with the president of the National Federation of the Blind. "We left the meeting with a strong commitment to improving our products," Alan Eustace, Google’s senior vice president of engineering and research, said in a statement.

jscohen@tribune.com

The Chicago Tribune

Study of disability should be part of college syllabi: Chief justice

Mayura Janwalkar

It is the study of disability that needs to be a part of medical college syllabi and not just the medical condition, chief justice (CJ) Mohit Shah of the Bombay high court said on Saturday. For the first time, the high court interacted with nearly 60 government officers and NGO representatives together to discuss issues related to disabilities. Major General (retd) Ian Cardozo of the Rehabilitation Council of India informed CJ Shah and justice SJ Vajifdar that candidates from the reserved quota for the disabled are often turned down by government doctors. CJ Shah remarked, "We will ask the Medical Council of India to make the study of disability a part of their syllabus.""

Centre to be answerable

Bhushan Punani of the Blind People’s Association said the centre allocates funds for development in the disability field to state governments each year. However, principal secretary of the social justice and welfare department Satish Gavai said these funds are not adequately allocated. The court has issued a show cause notice to the centre.

Technology needed

Advocate Kanchan Pamnani said that of the 3% of government posts reserved for the disabled, 1% are reserved for the visually challenged. Professor Sam Taraporevala made a presentation of various softwares which, if made available by the government, can be used by the visually challenged to enhance their efficiency. "Reservation is meaningless if the software is not provided by the government," CJ Shah said.

What’s in a name?

Due to a difference in nomenclature of central and state government posts reserved for disabled candidates, there is a backlog of 607 posts in the state. Issuing a show cause notice to the state government, the court also sought a compilation of government resolutions, including the resolution of February 2008 that bars blind candidates from teaching in colleges. Advocate Jamshed Mistry said that the government’s decisions need periodical reviews and a time-frame for implementation.
Attitude change needed

Advocate general Ravi Kadam said, "Unless the mindset changes at our end, there is going to be no real change," Kadam said. CJ Shah added, "In the West, legislation mandates testing for disabilities at birth. If it is made compulsory, remedial measures can be taken immediately. I would like the government to consider this very seriously," The court was informed that such detection was a part of the government’s draft action plan.

DNA

Mental health advocates sue state over funding

A group of mental health and disability rights advocates filed a class-action lawsuit against state and local agencies in federal court last week to put a stop to the governor’s veto of a long-standing mental health program.

For a quarter of a century, AB 3632 provided critical mental health services to children in California. The program served 20,000 youth in the state – that is, until Oct. 8, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gave it a line-item veto.

“Many of us had worked for months to make sure that this program was safe from budget cuts – and it was,” said Laura Faer, an attorney with Public Counsel, a pro-bono law firm. “But then the blue pencil came out of nowhere.”

The advocates – Public Counsel Law Centre, Disability Rights California, Mental Health Advocacy Services and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher – say the veto violates the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. They asked for a temporary restraining order to keep the program in place while the case is being heard.

The AB 3632 program, which received $133 million in federal and state dollars, funded services that included crisis counselling, case management, medication management and residential placement for children with mental health issues.

The governor has not released a public statement about the cuts to the program. But H.D. Palmer, spokesperson for the California Department of Finance, told California Watch the state does not have the funds to continue the program.

Palmer said even though the state will no longer provide such services, it will expect local agencies to do so.

"There is a federal mandate under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act that mandates that schools provide these services," said Palmer. "The schools will continue to provide these services."

But Faer said families are already suffering as counties across the state have stopped providing services and taking referrals.

“The stories are heart-breaking,” she told California Watch. She said her phone has been ringing off the hook with calls from desperate parents asking for help.

One plaintiff in the class-action suit, who is referred to only by the fictitious name of "Andrew" to protect his privacy, has a history of suicide attempts for which he has been hospitalized several times. The 17-year-old was adopted from the foster care system as a toddler after being exposed to foetal alcohol and drugs, according to his mother’s court declaration.

Through the state program, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health had lined up services for Andrew. In October, he was to be placed in a residential facility through the AB 3632 program. Since the program was slashed, he has been in juvenile hall.

“If my son doesn’t get the psychiatric help he needs, this cycle will continue – my husband and I don’t want him to take his own life or continue feeling like he has no help and way to get better. These services must be reinstated immediately,” Gail Campos, Andrew’s mother, wrote in her court declaration.

Faer, the Public Counsel attorney, also told the story of "A.L.," a 13-year-old with bipolar symptoms and a history of suicide attempts, whose family had recently been able to secure her residence at a 24-hour facility in Utah. On Oct. 12, when A.L., whom Faer asked be referred to only by her initials, arrived at the facility with her mother, they were told that the county department of mental health was no longer paying for the program. Mother and daughter were sent back to southern California on a plane.

Some counties are doing what they can to continue providing services for existing clients but often for a limited time, Faer said. The loss of incoming patients has caused some departments to begin talks of layoffs.

“If there are no more children filling the beds, they have to lay off staff,” Faer said.

Among the list of defendants in the case are the governor, the California Department of Education, the California Department of Mental Health, the California Health and Human Services Agency, the Los Angeles and Torrance unified school districts, and county mental health departments. The lawsuit claims the entities are denying children the right to education-related mental health services required by federal law.

In an Oct. 18 e-mail, the California Department of Education reminded local education agencies across the state that if county mental health agencies fail to provide and pay for special education and related services, federal law requires that "local educational agencies provide or pay for these services in a timely manner."

Candis Bowles, a lawyer with Disability Rights California, said children are entitled to the mental health services regardless of which agency provides them.

"Our position is that the students have a right to these services," she said.

CaliforniaWatchBlog October 26, 2010

Rejected disabled CAT-taker moves court against IIMs : Contends institutes leave disabled category seats vacant

Mayura Janwalkar.

Do the IIMs adequately fill up the disability quota for students?

No, thinks Rahul Girreddy, who took CAT this year and has filed a petition against the IIMs in the Bombay high court.  The commerce graduate contends in his petition that the IIMs are not complying with the provisions of the Persons with Disabilities (PD) Act, 1995.  “Though there are 90 to 100 seats reserved for DAs (differently-abled candidates), only approximately 55 candidates are short-listed collectively by the IIMs for the second phase of the selection process,” the petition states. Under the PD Act, 3% of seats in educational institutions have to be reserved for DA candidates. But the number of seats provided by the IIMs against the quota does not amount to 3%, the petition states.

It states that IIM-A stipulates that SC/ST/DA candidates should score at least 17% in each of the three sections of CAT. Accordingly, 396 DA candidates should have been eligible for interviews this year. But the IIMs put the cut-off for the three categories at 80 percentile — much above what the 17% per subject would yield — and called only 31 candidates for interviews. Girreddy contends that even if all the IIMs were to set their cut-off at say 60 percentile — like  IIM-Indore — only 55 DA candidates would have been selected, leaving many seats vacant, which would then be filled up with candidates from the general category. Girreddy, who secured 46.20 percentile, was certain of getting an interview call.

But the high cut-off dashed his hopes. Terming the conditions laid down by the IIMs “illogical”, Girreddy states in his petition: “Though the IIMs do make a provision for 3% of their seats to be reserved for DAs, the modus operandi adopted by the IIMs defeats the provisions of the PD Act, frustrates the objective set out for the state in the constitution, and causes a colossal waste of public money.”  Girreddy’s father GS Reddy says the case will be mentioned before a division bench of the court on Monday, and a date of hearing sought. If the court gives a judgment favourable to Girreddy, it will affect the percentile scores of all candidates.

DNA Bombay

Proposed amendments to Disability Act upsets NGOs

Bangalore, Jan 5, DH News Service:

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

NGOs and activists have expressed their disappointment over the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s announcement that it would introduce amendments to the Persons With Disability Act in the forthcoming budget session.

While the government is preparing to put forth 101 amendments, advocate Kanchan Pamnani, who has been working closely with the Disability Rights Group that demands the total replacement of the Act, has said that the current law requires not less than 300 amendments. “The minister has gone back on his promise to replace the law, which he had made to the members of the group some months ago,” Kanchan, said Mumbai-based solicitor. Many allege that the Act passed by the Indian Parliament in 1995 does not align with the United Nations Convention for Rights of Persons With Disability (UNCRPD) that calls for a rights-based approach. “Having signed and ratified the Convention, India has an obligation to orient its laws towards it,” Kanchan said. Public domain C Mahesh, Advocacy Coordinator for Bangalore-based CBR Forum said that the amended law should be placed in the public domain before being tabled in the Parliament. “The amendment must be placed before the public domain and debates need to be held before making any decision. Apart from the 100 odd articles that have been proposed to be amended there are nearly 18 articles that have been left out,” he said. Victor John Cordeiro, Manager Advocacy and Campaign, Leonard Cheshire Disability, South-Asia Region office said that the proposed draft amendment is not in line with the UN Convention. “There are many loopholes in the proposed amendment and many articles are excluded. A new legislation must be passed instead of amending the existing law,” he said. Earlier, Javed Abidi, Convenor of Disability Rights Group and Chairman of National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled Persons (NCPEDP) had asked the government to replace the Act with a new legislation  which his movement calls “The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Respect for Dignity, Effective Participation and Inclusive Opportunities) Act.” After meeting with MSJE Minister Mukul Wasnik, Abidi had said he has shared the concerns of the activists. Flaws in amendments “It was then that we brought to his attention the flaws, substantial ones, that still existed in the so called  ‘Amendments’ document being floated around by the Ministry,” said Abidi. “We then proposed that what India needs now, rather what the 70 million disabled people of India need now is a brand new, modern, forward looking, 21st century law. We even proposed a name. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Respect for Dignity, Effective Participation and Inclusive Opportunities) Act,.” However, the minister participating in the Louis Braille day celebrations on Monday has said that the government would introduce the amendments in what appears to be a u-turn on his earlier attempts to hold consultations and act according to the community’s wishes. “This is just a lollypop he is offering to the community. The government doesn’t appear serious on offering the community what it needs,” Kanchan said. Deccan Herald

Suits over Web sites get mixed results

Posted: Monday, January 11, 2010 11:00 pm

Last year, the nonprofit law center Disability Rights Advocates settled a suit over access against Hotels.com and Expedia.com.  In the settlement, the online travel companies agreed to start providing information about hotels’ accessibility features, such as Braille signage and the width of doorways, on their Web sites.  In 2008, the group also successfully settled a lawsuit accusing Target of violating the Americans With Disabilities Act because its online store could not be navigated with a screen reader.

According to Karla Gilbride, fellowship attorney with the center, courts across the country have interpreted how the Americans With Disabilities Act should apply to the Internet differently.  She said some courts have ruled that the law guarantees access to all Web sites, while others have decided it should only apply to Web sites that are associated with a physical space, such as a store or bank.

Billings Gazzette