Recently in the case of Akshat Baldwa v. Maddock Films[i], a petition was filed requesting accessibility features in the movies “Stree 2” and “Auro Mein Kahan Dum Tha” with respect to their OTT release. There was a lack of disabled friendly accessibility features in these recent movies released on Amazon Prime. The Petitioners had approached the Court seeking judicial intervention in this regard.
Arguments
It was argued by the Petitioners that Section 42 (i) of the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (“PwD Act”) obligated the government to ensure that all content available in electronic media is in an accessible format. It was further argued that Section 42(ii) provides to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to electronic media, and also audio description and close captioning in such electronic media. Section 2(y) gives the principle of reasonable accommodation, requiring necessary modifications to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy rights equally. Reliance was placed on Akshat Baldwa & Ors. v. Yashraj Films & Ors.,[ii] wherein the Court had examined similar issues and issued directions to film producers to provide requisite accessibility features.
According to the petitioners, prior to the filing of the petition, they had corresponded with the producer and the OTT platform requesting them to enable accessibility features, however, there had been no resolution.
The Order
The Court in it’s 5th December order held that since an email had already sent by the petitioner to the respondent on 16th October, 2024, it was hoped that a solution would be found between the parties related to this issue. The next hearing date was kept on 9th of December to assess the situation and response of the respondents.
In its 9th December order, the Court noted that the respondents were willing to make available same-language captioning with respect to the two films “Stree 2: Sarkate Ka Atank” and “Auro Mein Kahan Dum Tha”, available on the OTT platforms. This was to be done within 8 weeks from the date of the order.
More importantly, the Court directed Union of India through its Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, to explain the steps undertaken by them for framing certain guidelines for improving disabled friendly accessibility features under the OTT platforms.
The Respondents (it seems that this was directed only to Maddock Films) were further directed to ensure that all the movies released on OTT platforms fully comply with the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code), Rules, 2021.
We may see certain additional directions by the Court on its next hearing date, which was 4th April, 2025.
Earlier Guidelines
In Akshat Baldwa v. Yash Raj Films,[iii] as mentioned and relied upon by the petitioner in this case, Justice Pratibha M. Singh had observed accessibility as “crucial and is enforceable as a legal right” and even private parties have to ensure that “reasonable accommodation” measures are taken in order to enable greater accessibility for the hearing and visually impaired persons. The Court had urged the Centre to expedite the notification of guidelines for making films accessible to individuals with hearing and visual impairments, setting a deadline of July 15.
Following this order, on 15th March 2024, certain guidelines were released by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting titled “Guidelines of Accessibility Standards in the Public Exhibition of Feature Films in Cinema Theatres for Persons with Hearing and Visual Impairment” (“Guidelines”) in relation to enhancing accessibility standards for persons with hearing and visual disabilities in the public exhibition of feature films in cinema theatres.
The Guidelines, aligned with PwD Act, ensured access to films and movie theatres by mandating accessibility features like Closed Captioning (CC/OC), Audio Description (AD), and Indian Sign Language. Film producers were required to submit certified accessibility features to CBFC, and movie theatres were required to provide equipment for inclusive viewing, such as caption stands, smart glasses, or headphones. Implementation deadlines varied, with all films being released in cinema mandated to include these features within two years. These measures promoted accessible cinema and greater inclusion of persons with disabilities to society. You can read in detail about these Guidelines in our earlier post here. You can also access the Guidelines here.
However, the main shortcoming of these guidelines was that they did not apply to OTT platforms. The applicability of these guidelines was limited to those feature films including trailers, promos, etc., certified by the CBFC for public exhibition in cinema halls/movie theatres for commercial purposes.
Conclusion
It might therefore be possible now, that new guidelines are framed by the Ministry in relation to accessibility features for persons with disabilities, applicable on OTT and other digital media platforms, following this recent order.
The push received recently for inclusion of persons with disabilities in media and other aspects of entertainment is commendable, especially since solid action is being taken to ensure such inclusion in all aspects, both physically and digitally.
Recent actions taken by the judiciary regarding the treatment of persons with disabilities include the case of Nipun Malhotra v. Sony Pictures Films India Private Limited,[iv] wherein the Supreme Court had laid down a framework and guidelines for portraying persons with disabilities in cinema and visual media aligning with anti-discrimination and dignity affirming objectives of Indian Constitution and the PwD Act. The Supreme Court decided to lay down a framework for portrayal of persons with disabilities in its judgement. The framework asked to avoid: marginalization, discriminatory language, and misleading portrayals of medical conditions. It was recommended that media should depict the diverse realities of disabled individuals, highlighting their challenges, successes, and contributions without resorting to stereotypes or extremes. You can read about this case in detail on our earlier post, here.
These various steps show that in addition to other factors, accessibility of persons with disabilities is a major requirement that will have to be followed by various production houses looking to release films, regardless of the mode of release (whether in theatres or digitally). Tools such as closed captioning, audio description, and in some cases, sign language would be required to be included.
End Notes:
[i] Akshat Baldwa v. Maddock Films Private Limited, W.P.(C) 16802/2024.
[ii] Akshat Baldwa v. Yash Raj Films, W.P.(C) 445/2023 & CM APPLs.1752-53/2023.
[iii] Ibid.
[iv] Nipun Malhotra v. Sony Pictures Films India Private Limited, Civil Appeal No. 7230 of 2024.
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