AKSHAT BALDWA & ORS. vs YASH RAJ FILMS & ORS.
$~1 (SB)
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Date of Decision:-31st January, 2024.
+ W.P.(C) 445/2023, CM APPL. 1752/2023 & CM APPL. 67351/2023
AKSHAT BALDWA & ORS. ….. Petitioners
Through: Mr Rahul Bajaj, Ms Mahoor Ghani, Mr Pritthish Roy, Advs. (M: 8825050490)
versus
YASH RAJ FILMS & ORS. ….. Respondents
Through: Ms. Srishti Gupta, Adv. for R-1 (M. 9310322455)
Mr. Ravi Prakash CGSC, Ms. Astu Khandelwal, Adv. for R-2. (M: 9810885923)
Mr Devvrat Joshi & Mr Angad S Makkar, Advs. for R-4.
Mr. Nitin Sharma, Mr. Kuber Mahajan, Advs. for R-5.
Mr. Pranav Sarthi, Adv. for R-6 (M. 8826457307)
CORAM:
JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH
Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral)
1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.
2. The present petition has been filed by four Petitioners, out of whom, Petitioner Nos.1, 2 and 4 are visually impaired and Petitioner No.3 is hearing impaired. The Petitioners had filed the present writ petition seeking reliefs in respect of the feature film Pathaan and praying for directions to incorporate sub-titling (same language), sub-titling (otherwise), captioning and audio-description for the movie Pathaan. In addition, one of the prayers is for notification of the standards of accessibility to be implemented in films in order to make film viewing enjoyable for visually and hearing impaired persons. The Petitioners through the present writ seek enforcement of various rights and accessibility requirements, as prescribed under the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (hereinafter, RPWD Act).
3. The case of the Petitioners is that, though various rights have been recognized for persons with disabilities under the RPWD Act, most films which are released in India are not catering to disabled persons despite the statute having been enacted more than 5-6 years ago.
4. In the present writ, through the previous hearings, this Court has considered the rights of persons with disabilities under the RPWD Act and has passed various directions to all the Defendants.
5. Initially the writ petition was filed in view of the movie Pathaan, however over the last hearings, this Court has considered various aspects of RPWD Act as also the relevant aspects of accessibility of information and broadcasting to persons with disabilities. This Court in view of the facts and circumstances of the case also directed Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (hereinafter, I&B) to provide requisite guidelines for broadcasting for people with disabilities.
6. The Court has also considered the decisions of the Honble Supreme Court in Rajive Raturi v. Union of India, [(2018) 2 SCC 413] and Vikash Kumar v. UPSC and Ors. [2021 SCC Online SC 84]. Accordingly, vide order dated 6th April, 2023, the Court passed the following directions:-
19. A perusal of the above provision would show that public services and facilities has been defined in a very broad manner and include leisure or recreational facilities as well. In view thereof, this Court is of the opinion that while the directions in respect of the movie Pathaan have been implemented, a broad stakeholder consultation would be required in order to ensure that the RPWD Act as also the circular issued on 1st October, 2019 are implemented both in letter and spirit.
20. Accordingly, it is directed that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting along with the other relevant Ministries may hold a stakeholder consultation with the following sets of stakeholders:
i. Film producers both in national and regional languages.
ii. OTT platforms which are operating in India.
iii. Television Broadcasters- Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF)/News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA)
iv. Association of theatre owners
v. Organizations for disabled persons.
vi. Film Distributors
vii. Service providers who run the delivery platforms in theatres such as XL Cinema.
viii. Bureau of Indian Standards
ix. Manufacturers of hardware and
x. Software developers of accessibility features.
xi. Any other stakeholders as the Ministry may consider appropriate.
21. In the stakeholder consultation, discussions would be held in respect of the manner in which the provisions of the RPWD Act and Rules as also the circular which has been issued on 1st October, 2019 can be implemented. The Ministry is free to frame guidelines in this regard and the draft guidelines may be placed on record before the Court by the next date of hearing.
22. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting may also bear in mind the draft Accessibility Standards for Television Programmes for Hearing Impaired which have been put up for stakeholder consultation vide notice dated 3rd November, 2021, while suggesting the framework of the future guidelines. The Bureau of Indian Standards has published standards on accessibility of ICT products and services (IS17802) which should also be contemplated while considering the framework of the draft proposed guidelines.
23. Let the stakeholder consultation be concluded by the end of August, 2023 and the status report be filed by 10th September, 2023.
7. After the said direction, there were various concerns raised by different stakeholders particularly by Film Federation of India (FFI) and the South Indian Film Chambers of Commerce (SIFCC) who raised certain practical concerns which were addressed by the Court and this Court vide order dated 26th September, 2023 held as under:
11. A perusal of the concerns raised by the film industry would show that the concerns could be easily addressed, if some flexibility is shown by the industry.
12. Under Section 42 of the Act, Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 making available tools to provide access to information and communication technology to persons with disabilities is mandatory in law and not providing the same would also constitute an offence under Section 89 and 90 of the said Act. The law having been brought into force almost six to seven years ago, the fact that persons with disabilities are unable to enjoy even basis forms of entertainment such as watching films in cinema halls, is a cause for concern. Moreover, the stand of the Film Federation of India (FFI) and the South Indian Film Chambers of Commerce (SIFCC) that the viewing experience of the vast majority ought not to be sacrificed for the sake of persons with disabilities shows a lack of sensitivity towards persons with disabilities, which is unacceptable, inasmuch as the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 which is the law, has to be given effect to.
13. In the present case, the purpose for directing the stakeholder consultations was to ensure that the concerns of stakeholders are duly addressed before mandatory guidelines are issued by the Ministry of I&B. However, it appears that some of the parties have expressed concerns, which in the opinion of this Court, may not be valid concerns. Moreover, after having understood the cost implications, for making the movie PATHAAN technically compliant for enabling persons with disabilities to enjoy the movie on OTT platforms, cost also does not appear to be a detrimental factor.
.
21. The Ministry of I&B shall give publicity to this order on its website so as to ensure that if any other stakeholders wish to make their submissions, they are free to do so.
22. The concerned Joint Secretary of the Ministry of I&B shall remain present in Court on the next date of hearing to assist the Court.
8. In compliance to the said order, on 2nd November, 2023 Mr. Prithul Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (Ministry of I&B) was present in Court. Mr. Ravi Prakash, ld. CGSC on the said date placed on record the minutes of meeting dated 19th October, 2023, which was held under the chairmanship of Mrs. Neerja Sehkhar, Additional Secretary, I&B. In the said minutes of the meeting various concerns were raised with regard to the costs of technology, availability of technology, whether there can be an increase in piracy if API providers are provided access and whether viewers experience would be disrupted by providing sign language window. The same was addressed by the Ld. Counsel for the Plaintiffs and the Court on the said date held as under:
6. Insofar as the cost is concerned, the Court notes that in the case of the film Pathaan the expense that was incurred in order to provide audio description, sub-titling, captioning, was to the tune of approximately Rs.6 lakhs, which in the opinion of this Court, would not be high especially in respect of popular films, which have the large budget. Insofar as the technology is concerned, in the minutes of the meeting it is recorded that technological solutions are increasingly becoming available. One such API provider is present in Court. If the Ministry of I&B deems it fit, it may contact such API providers including the entity i.e. M/s Brajma Intelligent System Pvt. Ltd. for exploring as to which are the best technological solutions and provide the details of such entities to producers and other stakeholders.
9. Further, on the said date Mr. Prithul Kumar submitted that the draft Accessibility Standards for Television Programmes for Hearing Impaired guidelines are under preparation and they will be released in the public domain within the next 2 to 4 weeks for the purpose of stakeholders comments. He also stated that the guidelines after finalization would require approval of the Ministry of Law and Justice and the whole process could take between 3 to 4 months or even 6 months.
10. On 22nd December, 2023, the Court was informed that despite the interim directions, the accessibility features were not being followed on OTT platforms. This Court in view of the interim directions of 16th January, 2023 directed the Ministry to call upon the producers of the films Jawan and Hi Papa for consultation and impress upon them the importance of providing the accessibility features at least in the OTT release for the said two films, at least. Further, vide order dated 22nd December, 2023 this Court directed the Ministry of I&B as under:
7. Let a status report be placed on record by the Ministry of I&B by 31st January, 2024 in respect of the previous order dated 2nd November, 2023.
11. Further to the last order, a status report has been handed over by Mr. Ravi Prakash, ld. CGSC for the I&B. The same is filed by way of an affidavit of Mr. Surajit Indu, Under Secretary, Ministry of I&B. It is stated in the said status report that the Draft Guidelines of Accessibility Standards in the Public Exhibition of Feature Films in Cinema Theatres for Persons with Hearing and Visual Impairment have been put up for stakeholders consultation on 8th January, 2024. The same is available on the following links.
https://mib.gov.in/film/films-codes-guidelines-and-policies https://mib.gov.in/sites/default/files/CORRIGENDUM%20%20Comments%20on%20Accessibility%20Guidelines%20for%20Films.pdf
12. As per the said guidelines, time has been given till 31st January, 2024 to all the stakeholders to submit their comments. The status report states that after comments are received, the guidelines would then be finalized in terms of the order dated 2nd November, 2023.
Mechanism for accessibility features in forthcoming films
13. Insofar as the film Jawan and Hi Papa are concerned, the stand of the Ministry of I&B in the status report is that a meeting was held with Red Chillies Entertainments, Vyra Entertainments and the producers of the concerned films along with OTT platform Netflix. The minutes of the meeting dated 15th January, 2024 are annexed to the said status report. After discussions, it was stated that the producers of both films Jawan and Hi Papa are willing to provide a copy of the films of the OTT platforms with accessibility features.
14. It is submitted on behalf of the Petitioners that since there are repeated films in respect of which inclusion of accessibility features would be required to be sought, instead of moving an application before the Court each time in respect of a new movie/film/series etc., the Ministry of I&B can designate a special officer to deal with representations in this regard.
15. In the opinion of this Court since there are several feature films and other content such as TV series, Documentaries etc., which are released continuously, let the Ministry of I&B designate a special officer on a permanent basis or put in place a mechanism for the purpose of dealing with the incorporation of accessibility features in such content. This would ensure that representations on behalf of persons with disabilities can be entertained, addressed and processed in a time bound manner. The said officer be designated or a proper mechanism be put in place, within the next two weeks and published on the website of the Ministry of I&B.
16. After receiving comments let a status report be placed on record setting out the developments in respect of the guidelines. Let a proposal be placed before this Court in this regard.
17. Mr. Kunaal Prasaad, who has appeared through VC, submits that cinemas and theatres are given three years time to implement the guidelines and such a long period would not be necessary and the same would be contrary to the spirit of the Rights of People with Disability Act, 2016. This submission shall be considered on the next date of hearing.
18. List on 15th March, 2024.
PRATHIBA M. SINGH
JUDGE
JANUARY 31, 2024
dk/bh
W.P.(C) 445/2023 Page 2 of 2