New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said there is need to sensitise the staff at the airports to be more compassionate towards persons with disabilities (PwD) and emphasized that necessary training should be imparted to them at regular intervals.
The matter came up before a bench comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Pankaj Mithal. "We dispose of the writ petition by laying more stress on the need to sensitise the staff at the airports to be more compassionate towards the PwD passengers”, said the bench.
The bench emphasized that necessary training should be imparted at regular intervals and it should include assisting the passengers in the issues they face at airports. The apex court was hearing a petition filed by a wheelchair-bound woman, who was repeatedly asked to stand up for her security check at the Kolkata airport.
The bench said that a detailed order has already been passed by a bench led by former Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud. The apex court had directed Centre to implement the mandatory accessibility standards within three months for improving access to public spaces for persons with disabilities.
The petition was filed by Gurugram resident Arushi Singh, who said she was asked to stand up thrice by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel during her security clearance at the Kolkata airport. The woman's counsel had referred to the lack of female security guards and support staff at the airport to help wheelchair-bound passengers. The petitioner’s lawyer had informed the court that she was 75-per cent disabled.
