Equality and non-discrimination

 
3.(1) The appropriate Government shall ensure that the persons with disabilities enjoy the right to equality, life with dignity and respect for his or her integrity equally with others.
(2) The appropriate Government shall take special measures to protect the rights of women and children with disability and also take steps to utilize the capacity of persons with disabilities by providing appropriate environment.
(3) No person with disability shall be discriminated on the ground of disability, unless it is shown that the impugned act or omission is appropriate to achieve a legitimate aim.
(4) No person shall be deprived of his or her personal liberty only on the ground of disability.
 

Community Life

4.(1) The person with disability shall have the right to live in the community.
 (2) The appropriate Government shall endevaour that the persons with disabilities are:-
(a)    not obliged to live in any particular living arrangement; and
(b)   given access to a range of in-house, residential and other community support services, including personal assistance necessary to support living with due regard to age and gender.
 

Protection from inhuman treatment

 
5.(1) The appropriate Government shall take measures to protect person with disability from being subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
(2) No person with disability shall be a subject of any research without-
(i)                 his or her free and informed consent obtained through accessible modes, means and formats of communication; and
(ii)               prior permission of an Ethics Committee constituted in the prescribed manner for the purpose by the appropriate Government in which not less than half of the Members shall themselves be either person with disability or Members of the registered organization as defined under clause (u) of section 2.
 

Protection from abuse, violence and exploitation.

 
 
6.(1) The appropriate Government shall take measures to protect persons with disabilities from all forms of abuse, violence and exploitation, and to prevent the same, shall:-
(a) take cognizance of incidents of abuse, violence and exploitation and provide legal remedies available against such incidents;
(b) take steps for avoiding such incidents and prescribe the procedure for its reporting; 
(c) take steps to rescue, protect and rehabilitate victims of such incidents; and 
(d) create awareness and make available information among the public.
(2) Any person or registered organization who or which has reason to believe that an act of abuse, violence or exploitation has been , or is being, or is likely to be committed against any person with disability, may give information about it to the Executive Magistrate within the local limits of whose jurisdiction such incidents occur.
(3) The Executive Magistrate on receipt of such information, shall take immediate steps to stop or prevent its occurrence, as the case may be, or pass such order as he deems fit for the protection of such person with disability including an order:-
 
(a) to rescue the victim of  such act, authorizing the  police or nay organization  working for persons with  disabilities to provide for  the safe custody or  rehabilitation of such  person, or both, as the      case may be;
(b) for providing protective custody to the person with disability, if such person so desires;
(c)    to provide maintenance to such person with disability.
(4) Any police officer who receives a complaint or otherwise comes to know of abuse, violence or exploitation towards any person with disability shall inform the aggrieved person of:-
 
(a) his or her right to apply for protection under sub-section(2) and the particulars of the Executive Magistrate having jurisdiction to provide assistance;
(b) the particulars of the nearest organization or institution working for the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities;
(c)    the right to free legal aid;
(d) the right to file a complaint under the provisions of this Act or any other law dealing with such offence: Provided that nothing in this section shall be construed in any manner as to relieve the police officer from his duty to proceed in accordance with law upon receipt of information as to the commission of a cognizable offence.
(5) If the Executive Magistrate finds that the alleged act or behaviour constitutes an offence under the Indian Penal Code, or under any other law for the time being in force, he may forward the complaint to that effect to the Judicial or Metropolitan Magistrate, as the case may be, having jurisdiction in the matter. (Remarks : 45 of 1860)
 

Protection and safety

 
7.(1) The persons with disabilities shall have equal protection and safety in situations of risk, armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters.
 
(2) The National Disaster Management Authority and the State Disaster Management Authority shall take appropriate measures to ensure inclusion of persons with disabilities in its disaster management activities as defined under clause (e) of section 2 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 for the safety and protection of persons with disabilities. (Remarks : 53 of 2005)
 
(3) The District Disaster Management Authority constituted under section 25 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 shall maintain record of details of persons with disabilities in the district and take suitable measures to inform such persons of any situations of risk so as to enhance disaster preparedness. (Remarks : 53 of 2005)
 
(4) The authorities engaged in reconstruction activities subsequent to any situation of risk, armed conflict or natural disasters shall undertake such activities, in consultation with the concerned State Commission, in accordance with the accessibility requirements of persons with disabilities.
 

Home and family

 
8.(1) NO child with disability shall be separated from his or her parents on the ground of disability except on an order of competent court, if required, in the best interest of the child.
 
(2) Where the parents are unable to take care of a child with disability, the competent court shall place such child with his or her near relations, and failing that within the community in a family setting or in exceptional cases in shelter homes run by the appropriate Government or non-governmental organizations, as may be required.
 

Reproductive

 
9.(1) The appropriate Government shall ensure that persons with disabilities have access to appropriate information regarding reproductive and family planning.
 
(2) No person with disability shall be subject to any medical procedure which leasds to infertility without his or her free and informed consent.
 

Accessibility in voting

 
10. The Election Commission of India and the State Election Commissions shall ensure that all polling stations are accessible to persons with disabilities and all materials related to the electoral process are easily understandable by and accessible to them.
 

Access to justice

 
11.(1)  The appropriate Government shall ensure that persons with disabilities are able to exercise the right to access any court, tribunal, authority, commission or any other body having judicial or quasi-judicial or investigative powers without discrimination on the basis of disability.
 
(2) The appropriate Government shall take steps to put in place suitable support measures for persons with disabilities specially those living outside family and those disabled requiring high support for exercising legal rights.
 
(3) The National Legal Services Authority and the State Legal Services Authorities constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 shall make provisions including reasonable accommodations to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to any scheme, programme, facility or service offered by them equally with others. (Remarks : 39 of 1987)
 
(4) The appropriate Government shall take steps to:-
 
(a) ensure that all the their public documents are in a accessible formats;
(b) ensure that filing departments, registry or any other office of records are supplied with necessary equipment to enable filing, storing and referring to the documents and evidence in accessible formats; and
(c) make available all necessary facilities and equipment to facilitate recording of testimonies, arguments or opinion given by persons with disabilities in their preferred language and means of communications.
 

Legal capacity

 
12.(1) The appropriate Government shall ensure that the person with disabilities have right, equally with others, to own or inherit property, movable or immovable, control their financial affairs and have access to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of financial credit.
 
(2) When a conflict of interest arises between a person providing support and a persons with disability in a particular financial, property or other economic transaction, then such supporting person shall abstain from providing support to the person with disability in that transaction:
Provided that there shall not be a presumption of conflict of interest just by blood, affinity or adoption.
(3) A person with disability may alter, modify or dismantle any support arrangement and seek the support of another:
Provided that such alteration, modification or dismantling shall be prospective in nature and shall not nullify any third party transaction entered into by the person with disability with the aforesaid support arrangement.
(4) Any person providing support to the person with disability shall not exercise undue influence and shall respect his or her autonomy, dignity and privacy.
 

Provision for guardianship

 
13.(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, on and from the date of commencement of this Act, where a District Court records a finding that a mentally ill person is incapable of taking care of himself or herself and of taking any legally binding decisions on his or her own, it shall make an order for appointment of limited guardian to take care of such mentally ill person and take all legal binding decisions on his or her behalf in consultation with such person:
Provided that the District Court may grant plenary guardianship to the mentally ill person under extraordinary situations where limited guardianship could not be awarded.
Explanation – For the purposes of this section:-
 
(i)          “plenary guardianship” means guardianship whereby subsequent to a finding of incapacity, a guardian substitutes for the person with disability as the person before the law and takes all legally binding decisions for him and the decisions of the person with disability have no binding force in law during the subsistence of the guardianship and the guardian is under no legal obligation to consult with the person with disability or determine his or her will or preference whilst taking decisions for him; and
(ii)             “limited guardianship” means a system of joint decision which operates on mutual understanding an trust between the guardian and the person with disability.
(2) On and from the date of commencement of this Act, every guardian appointed under any provision of any law for mentally ill persons shall be deemed to function as limited guardian:
Provided that where guardian appointed prior to the commencement of this Act is unable to function as limited guardian, the concerned District Court may grant plenary guardianship afresh taking into account all relevant records of the concerned mentally ill person within six moths from the date of commencement of this Act.
Explanation:- For this purposes of this section “District Court” means, in any area for which there is a city civil court, that court and in any other area the principal civil court of original jurisdiction, and includes any other civil court which the State Government may, by notification, specify as the court competent to deal with all or any of the matters specified in this Act;
 

Designation of authorities to support

 
14.(1) The appropriate Government shall designate one or more authorities to mobilize the community and create social awareness to support persons with disabilities in exercise of their legal capacity.
(2) The authority designated under sub-section (1) shall take measures for setting up suitable support arrangements to exercise legal capacity by persons with disabilities living in institutions and those with high support needs any other measures as may be required.