Bombay HC may widen scope of PIL on disability access in Goa’s public buses

The Bombay High Court is considering enlarging the scope of a public interest litigation filed by a blind man seeking accessibility improvements to Goa’s Kadamba bus network, to examine standards under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act and the Motor Vehicles Act alongside the state’s policy toward persons with disabilities.

A division bench of Justices Valmiki Menezes and Hiten Venegavkar made the observation on Wednesday while seeking replies from the Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC), the department of social welfare and other authorities in the case.

The PIL was filed by 32-year-old Harish Parab, represented by Chirag Angle under legal aid, seeking audible announcement systems on all KTC buses and at bus stands, and wheelchair-accessible ramps on buses. Parab said he was mistakenly dropped at the Goa Medical College stop instead of Goa University after an electric Kadamba bus’s audible announcement system was disabled.

The petition also seeks specifically notified seat numbers reserved for persons with disabilities, arguing that seats are currently reserved on an arbitrary basis without designated numbers, and concessional KTC travel rates for persons with benchmark disabilities even outside Goa.

Parab has additionally sought the formation of an independent authority to oversee infrastructural measures for persons with disabilities under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, in consultation with disabled persons and their organisations.