JUDGMENT :

Prathiba M. Singh, J.

1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

CM APPL. 1753/2023 (for exemption)

2. Allowed, subject to all just exceptions. Application is disposed of.

W.P.(C) 445/2023 & CM APPL. 1752/2023

3. The present petition has been filed by four Petitioners who are citizens, out of whom, Petitioner Nos.1, 2 and 4 are visually impaired and Petitioner No.3 is hearing impaired. Petitioner No.1 is a law student at National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, Petitioner Nos.2 and 4 are qualified lawyers. Petitioner No.3 is the Joint Secretary & Executive Director of the National Association for the Deaf.

4. The petition has been filed seeking directions against Respondent No.1 - Yash Raj Films, which is the producer of the film ‘Pathaan’, the two Ministries i.e., Respondent No.2 - Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Respondent No.3 - Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, as also, the Respondent No.4 - Amazon Seller Services Private Limited, which operates an Over-The-Top (hereinafter, “OTT”) platform namely, Amazon Prime Video, on which the said film is stated to be scheduled for release on 28th April, 2023.

5. The Petitioners seek enforcement of various rights and accessibility requirements, as prescribed under the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (hereinafter, “RPWD Act”). The prayers sought in the present petition are extracted below:

“The Petitioners, therefore, pray that in the facts and circumstances of the present case this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to issue writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ or direction to:

A. Directing Respondent No. 1 to provide AD and subtitling/captioning for the movie Pathaan, in theatres, Over-the-Top streaming platforms (through Respondent No. 4) and any other media in which the movie is made available;

B. A direction to Respondent No. 2 and 3 to take appropriate steps in effecting the provision for audio description and subtitling/captioning for the movie Pathaan;

C. A Direction to Respondent No. 2 and 3 to promptly notify standards of accessibility for captioning/subtitling and audio description; and

Pass such other and further orders/directions/writs as this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstance of the case.”

6. The case of the Petitioners is that, though various rights have been recognized for ‘persons with disabilities’ under the RPWD Act, most films which are released in India are not catering to disabled persons despite the statute having been enacted more than 5-6 years ago.

7. Mr. Rahul Bajaj, Petitioner No.2 appearing in person, makes the following submissions:

i. There are various tools that help make films disabled - friendly, but none of them have been implemented in the film ‘Pathaan’.

ii. The film ‘Pathaan’ is slated for release in theatres on 25th January, 2023. However, apart from the subtitles having been approved by the Central Board of Film Certification (hereinafter, “CBFC”), the said film does not make available audio description and closed captions. Even the approved subtitles are in the English language, instead of being in the language of the film, i.e., Hindi, and this makes it almost impossible for hearing and visually impaired persons to enjoy the said film.

iii. The producers of the film ‘Pathaan’ ought to be directed to add the audio description, subtitles, and closed captions, before the release of the said film.

iv. The two Ministries, i.e., Respondent Nos.2 and 3, be directed to notify the required standards for accessibility to persons who are hearing and visually impaired. On this aspect, he submits that even though certain guidelines have been issued in the past, the same have not been implemented by the Ministries, and there are no sanctions for non-compliance of the same. Thus, a large number of films do not take the necessary steps to provide these tools which make the films disabled-friendly.

v. Reliance is placed upon the judgment of the Su