Access to Justice
For Persons with Disabilities in India
Access to justice is a foundational right and a necessary condition for the realisation of all other rights. Yet, for persons with disabilities in India, the justice system remains difficult to navigate — marked by physical, procedural, attitudinal, and systemic barriers.
Pacta's research emerges from our sustained engagement with the intersections of law, policy, and disability rights, and is grounded in the belief that justice systems must be designed to serve everyone.
Our Research
Justice X Data
The Access to Justice for Persons with Disabilities in India report is a first of its kind research study. This report carves out the legal mandate for an inclusive justice system for persons with disabilities and maps it against data mandates and publicly available data, in an attempt towards the attainment of the constitutional vision of justice for all citizens in India.
By mapping the presence — and significant absence of data, this report seeks to identify systemic blind spots, encourage transparent reporting, and advocate for evidence-based reforms that promote accountability and inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in the Justice systems of Police, Prisons, Judiciary and Legal Aid.
The report draws primarily on government-published datasets and public documents. It is further informed by jurisprudence, secondary research, and field-level insights, including 417 RTI application responses.
Who is it for?
This work isintended for policy-makers, civil society actors, researchers, and justice sector stake-holders who are committed to transformingthe justice system into one that reflects the diversity and dignity of all its users.
Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities across the Four Pillars of the Justice System
Disability and
the Police
Disability and Prisons
Disability and the Judiciary
Disability and Legal Aid
Mandates for Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in the Justice System
Special courts and prosecutors, disability training mandates
How can Persons with Disabilities be Included in the System?
As Users of the System
Persons with disabilities as justice seekers
As a part of Human Resources
Persons with disabilities as justice providers
Through
Accessible Infrastructure
Physical and digital accessibility and inclusion
Through System Response
Disability aware and disability responsive systems
Where are we on inclusive justice systems?
How do we strengthen disability inclusion?
What immediate action can be taken?
Findings
The findings highlights the systemic lack of data across the justice system vis-a-vis persons with disabilities, and implementation of measures of inclusion despite mandates for disability inclusion urges the case for better data collection and public reporting of such data.
Recommendations
Recommendations focus on disability inclusion in the justice system through awareness, enforcement of reservation policies, infrastructure accessibility, and comprehensive data collection.
Checklists
The research has enabled the creation of data collection checklists that can guide disability data collection initiatives by each of the justice institutions - Police, Prisons, Judiciary and Legal Aid.
Pillar-wise Findings, Recommendations and Checklists
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