CJI enlists aid of visually impaired lawyer to boost inclusivity in court
NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud on Thursday stressed on digital accessibility for the disabled in courtrooms, as he sought the assistance of senior advocate SK Rungta – the first visually impaired lawyer to be designated a senior – for making proceedings disabled-friendly.
The CJI was impressed by Rungta’s suggestion that making use of a software that can translate text documents into braille would go a long way in assisting visually-disabled lawyers in accessing documents cited during the course of a hearing.
The exchange between justice Chandrachud and Rungta began as the latter argued a case relating to electricity tariff. The bench also comprised justices
Hima Kohli and JB Pardiwala.
Intrigued as to how Rungta was able to follow the case laws being cited and read out, the CJI asked him: “I wanted to ask you a personal question. I hope you don’t mind. The other counsel is citing a compilation. How do you follow it in court?”
Rungta replied that he used a software which converts text to braille. To this, justice Chandrachud said that as the chairman of the e-committee, making courts friendly for the disabled is one of his missions.
Rungta replied that he would like to point out a few things that could help. “As we are moving towards digitalisation, the software used in the court ought to be compatible with the software we are using in our devices so that the material can be converted to braille,” he submitted.
Rungta pointed out that text can easily be converted to voice using commonly available software, but a voice format cannot be used in a courtroom.
The suggestion was warmly welcomed by the CJI. “You are absolutely right. What I will do is that I will ask the head scientist of the NIC [National Informatics Centre] to co-ordinate with you... It is not merely going to help the Supreme Court lawyers, but I want to do it for courts across the country,” justice Chandrachud told Rungta.