Order of the Supreme Court of India in the matter of Seema Girija Lal & Others Vs Union of India & Others dated 13/01/2023.

The petitioners are members of a forum for parents, professionals and other stake holders dealing with the rights of children with disabilities. The petitioners have highlighted that the diverse provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 have not been implemented by the states.

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The Supreme Court directed notice to be issued to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The Ministry has to file a counter affidavit within a period of one month on the issue of lack of effective implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 by the state governments. During the same period, the Ministry has been asked to convene a meeting with the state government ministries dealing with implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016.

The apex court directed the Union Government to convene a meeting of all the concerned ministries of the state governments and the state advisory boards with a view to eliciting the present status of compliance. The SC suggested that they should also consider setting up a dashboard in order to elicit real-time information on the status of implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016.