New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday warned it would summon chief secretaries of states and officials concerned of the central government if they didn’t comply with its December 15 directives to provide adequate facilities at public places for the differently abled.
"We have not said anything new in our verdict (December 2017). It was your (the Centre’s) law and we just asked you to comply with it. We are not running the government. It’s you who have to follow the law and the order," Justice A.K. Sikri, sitting on a bench with Justice Ashok Bhushan, told additional solicitor-general Pinky Anand who had appeared for the Union government.
"Everything we said in the judgment of December 15, 2017, already existed in the statute. It is not something which is a creation of the court. It was your law and we just asked you to comply with it. It is your job."
The court had in December directed the Centre and the states to ensure that public infrastructure and facilities, including those at government establishments and offices of public sector undertakings, were accessible to persons with disabilities.
On Wednesday, the bench gave the Centre four weeks to file a fresh affidavit with details of the steps taken and the timeline for completing the work as stated in its December verdict.
Earlier in 2017, while dealing with a public interest plea filed by Rajiv Raturi, a social activist, the court had directed accessibility audits of government buildings to be completed by February this year and phased retrofitting of these structures by December 2019.
The court had also asked the Centre and the states to come up with detailed plans to enhance accessibility to railway stations, airports, public carriers, government websites and public documents within three months.
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