Rights of Disabled Persons (CRPD 2006 / RPwD Act 2016) — Human Rights Law Notes

Rights of Disabled Persons (CRPD 2006 / RPwD Act 2016)

For centuries disability was treated as a matter of charity — the disabled person was an object of pity to be cared for, not a citizen with rights. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted on 13 December 2006, flipped that model on its head: disability is not a defect in the person but a barrier in society, and the law’s job is to remove the barrier. India answered with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

Move from the international convention (CRPD) to India’s implementing statute (the RPwD Act 2016), noting that the 2016 Act replaced the older 1995 law.

A. The international standard — CRPD 2006

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was adopted on 13 December 2006 and came into force on 3 May 2008; India ratified it on 1 October 2007. It is built on principles of dignity, individual autonomy, non-discrimination, full participation, accessibility and equality, and it introduces the key idea of reasonable accommodation — a duty to make the changes a disabled person needs to enjoy rights equally. An earlier UN Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons (1975) was the first international statement of the field.

B. India — the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016

The RPwD Act, 2016 came into force on 19 April 2017 to give effect to the CRPD, replacing the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. Its main features:

It recognises 21 specified disabilities (up from 7 under the 1995 Act), including physical, intellectual, mental-illness and multiple disabilities.
Reservation of not less than 4% in government jobs and 5% of seats in higher educational institutions for persons with benchmark disability (40% or more of a specified disability).
Duties of accessibility (buildings, transport, information) and a bar on discrimination.
A Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities at the Centre and State Commissioners as enforcement authorities.

C. Other Indian law

The National Trust Act, 1999 (welfare of persons with autism, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability and multiple disabilities), the Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992, and Article 41 of the Constitution (a Directive Principle asking the State to secure public assistance in cases of disablement).

🧩 WORKED EXAMPLE — the passenger with cerebral palsy

Facts. An airline removes a passenger with cerebral palsy from a flight, judging her “unfit to fly” without any medical basis; she sues for the indignity.

Rule. The CRPD and the RPwD framework require non-discrimination and reasonable accommodation, and Article 21 protects the dignity of a disabled person.

Apply. The airline acted on prejudice, not assessment; offloading her without cause violated her dignity — Jeeja Ghosh v Union of India (2016) held exactly this and awarded compensation.

Conclusion. The disabled passenger is entitled to compensation; disability is no ground for exclusion without a genuine, assessed reason.

Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, s.3(1): “The appropriate Government shall ensure that the persons with disabilities enjoy the right to equality, life with dignity and respect for his or her integrity equally with others.”

In Simple Terms: The CRPD treats disability as a barrier society must remove, not a fault in the person, and the RPwD Act 2016 delivers that in India — 21 disabilities, job and education reservations, accessibility and a bar on discrimination.

flowchart TD
    A["RIGHTS OF DISABLED PERSONS"]:::root
    A --> B["UN Declaration 1975<br/>first statement of the field"]:::leaf
    A --> C["CRPD 2006 (in force 2008)<br/>dignity · non-discrimination<br/>reasonable accommodation · accessibility"]:::leaf
    A --> D["RPwD Act 2016<br/>21 disabilities · 4% jobs / 5% education<br/>Chief Commissioner"]:::leaf
    A --> E["Also: National Trust 1999 · RCI 1992 · Art 41"]:::leaf
    classDef root fill:#FFF8DC,stroke:#000,stroke-width:1px,color:#000;
    classDef leaf fill:#E6F3FF,stroke:#1E3A8A,color:#000;
    linkStyle default stroke:#888,stroke-width:1px;

⚠️ Do NOT cite the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 as the current law — it was repealed and replaced by the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Naming the old Act dates the whole answer.

Case Laws

Jeeja Ghosh v Union of India (2016) — offloading a disabled passenger without cause violates dignity; reasonable accommodation is a right (see brief C-16).
Justice Sunanda Bhandare Foundation v Union of India (2014) — directed the effective implementation of disability reservations and welfare.

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