HC dismisses plea to ban use of terms like ‘Divyang’

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking to ban the use of terms ‘Divyang’ or ‘Divyangjan’ or ‘mentally retarded’ to refer to the differently-abled as they were derogatory in any legislation, regulation or policy and the same has also been flagged by the United Nation (UN).

The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, before whom such plea came seeking to remove those words came, said: “What is of importance is the measures taken by the State to help the lot, some of our brethren who may not have the use of all faculties like most others or may be challenged in some form or the other.”

However, noting that of late, there has been a change in the use of several expressions since they were found to be either derogatory or not providing dignity to a class of persons despite there being no intent to humiliate by the use of such expressions, the Chief Justice said: “Accordingly, corrections have been enforced across the board and it is no longer appropriate to call a person disabled but refer to such person as a person with disabilities.”

“Similarly, the more hurtful blind is not used in official documents and the more appropriate ‘visually challenged’ is in vogue,” the bench added. It also pointed out that while it is also proper to ensure that hurtful epithets are not used for their description, the matter can only be taken up to a point and not be stretched to the point of absurdity.

Also noting that the expression mental retardation has been corrected as intellectual disabilities, the court said: “While the effort of the petitioner is appreciated to ensure that otherwise abled persons or persons with disabilities are not demeaned or treated as a pariah as a result of the manner of description of such persons, the greater emphasis should be on the effective measures adopted by the State rather than following the fad of political correctness as to the expressions used to describe them.”

While it is proper to ensure that hurtful epithets are not used, the matter can only be taken up to a point and not be stretched to the point of absurdity — Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee