The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 came into force on 27^th December 2016 to give effect to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). In exercise of powers conferred by Section 56 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 the Central Government has notified the Guidelines to Certify Disabilities for the purpose of assessing the extent of following specified disabilities in a person after having considered the recommendations of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, namely: –

1. locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy;
2. blindness and low-vision;
3. deaf and hard of hearing and speech and language disability;
4. intellectual disability and specific learning disabilities;
5. mental illness;
6. chronic neurological conditions;
7. haemophilia, thalassemia, and sickle cell disease; and
8. multiple disabilities.

In terms of Section 57 of the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the State Governments or as the case maybe, Union Territory Administrators shall designate persons, having requisite qualifications and experience, as certifying authorities, who shall be competent to issue the certificate of disability and also notify the jurisdiction within which and the terms and conditions, subject to which, the certifying authority shall perform its certification functions. The Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India shall be the final authority to decide upon cases where any controversy or doubt arises in matters relating to interpretation of the definitions or classifications or evaluation procedure regarding the said guidelines.

To know the detailed Guidelines to Certify Disabilities for the purpose of assessing the extent of specified disability in a person included under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, kindly click here.

– Esha Shah, Paralegal