Abstract

All people are born free, with a guaranteed Right to Equality and Respect. However, time and again the vulnerable section of society has often faced discernment from their fellow human beings, thus depriving them of their Human Rights. One such class comprises of people with disabilities, who since ages have faced discrimination, stigma, and infringement of their universal Fundamental Rights everywhere around the globe. Both at International and National Level, many actions have been taken to combat this evil. In this light India ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) on October 1, 2007 . Accordingly the treaty requires the signatories to update their National laws, find and remove hurdles and barriers, and abide by the UNCRPD's guidelines in true spirit. Therefore, the then prevailing, the Persons with Disability Act, 1995 (PWD Act, 1995) and other legislation were comprehensively amended by the Government of India in light of their world-wide commitment with the aforesaid convention. To be in compliance with the UNCRPD, the PWD Act of 1995 was replaced with the Rights of PWD Act, 2016 (RPWD Act 2016). Although the government and the judiciary have taken a right-based approach to treat the situation, but the Act's implementation would need to be closely watched both at implementation and progression levels. Even after the Act went into effect, handicapped individuals have been denied a number of statutory rights, and therefore, it becomes imperative that judiciary must take the initiative to ensure that the Act's provisions are followed in text and essence. Therefore, this paper is an attempt to analyse the said Act in light of Human Rights of disabled persons along with analysing the International Conventions formulated to cope up with the current scenario. The author also seeks to examine the prospects and challenges the issue hold with an attempt to put forth suggestions in this regard.

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