Digital access intrinsic to right to life and liberty of visually impaired, acid attack victims: SC
The Statesman | 1 May 2025
In an important ruling, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday that the access to digital KYC (Know Your Customer) to avail of online services, including banking, is a fundamental right intrinsic to Article 21 of the constitution, of the persons with disabilities, especially facial/eye disfigurements due to acid attacks and visual impairments.
Having ruled that the access to e-KYC is a constitutional right of the people with visual impairments and those who suffered facial/eye disfigurement due to acid attack, a bench of Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan, in a judgment, issued 20 directions asking the Central government to direct all the government and private organisations to follow accessibility standards as prescribed from time to time.
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Speaking for the bench, Justice Mahadevan said, “The right to digital access, therefore, emerges as an intrinsic component of the right to life and liberty, necessitating that the State proactively design and implement inclusive digital ecosystems that serve not only the privileged but also the marginalized, those who have been historically excluded.”
Further stating that the principle of substantive equality demands that digital transformation be both inclusive and equitable, the judgment said, “… persons with disabilities encounter unique barriers in accessing online services due to the lack of accessible websites, applications and assistive technologies. Similarly, individuals in remote or rural areas often face poor connectivity, limited digital literacy, and a scarcity of content in regional languages, effectively denying them meaningful access to e-governance and welfare delivery systems.”
In such circumstances, the judgment said it is the state’s obligations under Article 21, read with Article 14 (right to equality), Article 15 (protection against discrimination) and Article 38 (State to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the people) of the Constitution, to ensure that the digital infrastructure, government portals, online learning platforms, and financial technologies are universally accessible, inclusive and responsive to the needs of all vulnerable and marginalized populations.
Pointing to the digital divide – characterized by unequal access to digital infrastructure, skills, and content – the judgment said it continues to perpetuate the systemic exclusion, not only of persons with disabilities, but also of large sections of rural populations, senior citizens, economically weaker communities, and linguistic minorities.
The digital divide and the need for bridging it, Justice Mahadevan in the judgment said that bridging the digital divide, is “no longer merely a matter of policy discretion but has become a constitutional imperative to secure a life of dignity, autonomy and equal participation in public life”.
The top court judgment came on two petitions – one by the acid attack victims, who suffered facial disfigurement and severe eye burns, and the other by one who suffered from 100% blindness.
The petitioners had sought directions to the various authorities to formulate appropriate rules and guidelines for conducting Digital KYC/ e-KYC / Video KYC process through alternative methods, ensuring that the process is more inclusive and accessible to all persons with disabilities-particularly acid attack survivors suffering from permanent facial/eye disfigurement and similarly placed individuals, including persons with blindness and low vision – in accordance with the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017, and Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
The Union of India, the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of India, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, and the Department of Telecommunications were respondents in the two petitions.