RPwD Act disability rights India-wide got a strong push from the Supreme Court on July 29, 2026.
A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan directed ten states and Union Territories that have not appointed State Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities to do so within four weeks. The warning was direct: “This direction shall be strictly complied with and none of the states should exhibit any laxity. Laxity, if any, shall be viewed very strictly.”
The order came in the long-running case Rajive Raturi v Union of India (Diary Number 9321/2005), which has been pushing India’s disability rights framework forward for over twenty years. This latest ruling is significant not just for physical accessibility but for RPwD Act disability rights India-wide, and particularly for the digital accessibility space that is currently being reshaped by the government’s draft ICT accessibility rules published just days before.
If your organization operates in India and has a website, app, or digital platform, this ruling directly affects your compliance risk. Here is what happened, why it matters, and what you need to do.
Updated October 12, 2026: the four-week window for these appointments ended in late August 2026, but the official list of State Commissioners (dated June 3, 2026) still shows these posts as vacant, so check your state government’s notices. The draft ICT accessibility rules are still a draft (not yet on DEPwD’s list of notified rules), and the case returns to court on January 20, 2027.
RPwD Act 2026 At A Glance
- 10: States and UTs the Supreme Court told to appoint an independent State Commissioner within four weeks (order of July 29, 2026) (Source: LiveLaw report of the order)
- Jan 31, 2027: SEBI deadline for regulated entities to appoint an IAAP-certified auditor, finish the digital accessibility audit and fix its findings (Source: SEBI circular, October 30, 2026)
- 12 / 18 months: Time the draft ICT rules give to meet the IS 17802 baseline once notified (turnover of Rs 500 crore or more / below), with full compliance within two years (Source: DEPwD draft rules, S.O. 3962(E))
- Rs 5 lakh: Maximum Section 89 fine for a repeat contravention of the Act or its rules (up to Rs 10,000 for a first) (Source: RPwD Act, 2016 (DEPwD))
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Key Takeaways
- On July 29, 2026, the Supreme Court directed 10 states and UTs to appoint State Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities under Section 79 of the RPwD Act within four weeks.
- The 10 named jurisdictions are Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, and Tamil Nadu.
- The Central Government was also directed to appoint a full-time Chief Commissioner and two Additional Commissioners within four weeks.
- The entire rule-making exercise for new accessibility standards must be completed within six months.
- The draft RPwD (Amendment) Rules 2026, dated July 16, 2026 and published in the Gazette on July 20, 2026, propose mandatory ICT accessibility requirements (IS 17802) for every organization offering digital products or services to users in India, including foreign firms.
- State Commissioners are the primary enforcement body for disability rights complaints, including complaints about inaccessible websites and digital services.
- Without a Commissioner in place, there is no mechanism to file complaints or enforce Section 89 fines against non-compliant organizations.
- Once Commissioners are in place and the new ICT rules are finalized, enforcement of digital accessibility standards will become real and active.
- The Supreme Court will review compliance with all of these directions at its next hearing on January 20, 2027.
RPwD Act 2026: The New Disability Rules and Deadlines at a Glance
If you searched for “RPwD Act 2026” or “new disability rules 2026”, these are the dates that matter for websites, apps and digital services in India:
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| February 11, 2026 | The Supreme Court asks the Union for detailed status reports on the accessibility framework it ordered in November 2024. |
| July 16 to 20, 2026 | Draft Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Amendment) Rules, 2026 for ICT issued (S.O. 3962(E) dated July 16, published in the Gazette on July 20), with 30 days for public comments. See the DEPwD consultation page. |
| July 29, 2026 | The Supreme Court orders 10 states and UTs to appoint independent State Commissioners within four weeks, tells the Union to appoint a full-time Chief Commissioner and two Additional Commissioners, and gives it six months to finish the non-negotiable accessibility norms. |
| January 20, 2027 | The Supreme Court’s next compliance hearing in Rajive Raturi v Union of India. |
| January 31, 2027 | SEBI-regulated entities must appoint an IAAP-certified auditor, finish their digital accessibility audit and fix its findings, after SEBI’s October 30, 2026 extension (the previous deadline was October 31, 2026). |
| After the ICT rules are notified | Organisations with turnover of Rs 500 crore or more get 12 months to meet the baseline requirements, smaller ones 18 months, and every covered organisation must reach full compliance within two years. |
What Happened: The July 29, 2026 Supreme Court Order
The Supreme Court of India, hearing a batch of petitions on accessibility for persons with disabilities, found that multiple states and Union Territories had not fulfilled a basic statutory obligation under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016: appointing a State Commissioner.
Advocate Rahul Bajaj, appearing for the petitioner, pointed out that despite Section 79 of the RPwD Act creating a clear mandate, many states had simply not made the appointment. The Court responded with a strict, time-bound direction.
The bench directed all affected states and UTs to appoint a Commissioner in accordance with Section 79 within four weeks, and added that the Commissioner so appointed must hold the post with independent charge.
The “independent charge” requirement matters. It closes a loophole that some governments had used to assign the Commissioner’s duties to an existing official who was already doing another job. The Court made clear that the post must be a dedicated, full-time appointment.
The Court also flagged a concern raised by advocates: Section 89 of the RPwD Act provides for punishment when the Act is violated, but there is currently no mechanism prescribed for actually recovering the fines imposed. The Court directed the Union to address this while finalizing the new rules, so that penalties have real teeth.
Which States and UTs Are Affected
The states and Union Territories specifically called out in the July 29 order for not having a State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities are:
- Delhi
- Haryana
- Rajasthan
- Himachal Pradesh
- Karnataka
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- Nagaland
- Puducherry
- Sikkim
- Tamil Nadu
This list includes some of India’s most populous and economically significant states. Delhi and Karnataka, in particular, are major hubs for tech companies. The absence of a Commissioner in these states has meant that disability rights complaints, including complaints about inaccessible digital platforms, have had no formal channel.
Organizations based in or serving users in these states should take note. As Commissioners are appointed and begin operations, complaint handling and enforcement will begin.
What Is a State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities?
Under Section 79 of the RPwD Act, 2016, every State Government must appoint a State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities. The Commissioner must have special knowledge or practical experience in matters relating to rehabilitation of persons with disabilities.
The role is not ceremonial. State Commissioners have real powers under Section 82 of the RPwD Act, including quasi-judicial authority equivalent to a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. This means a Commissioner can:
- Summon witnesses and require attendance
- Call for discovery and production of documents
- Requisition public records from any court or office
- Investigate complaints of violations of the RPwD Act
- Monitor implementation of the Act by state agencies and private organizations
For digital accessibility, this matters directly. If a user with a disability cannot access a website, app, or digital service, and the company fails to remediate, the State Commissioner is the body they file a complaint with. The Commissioner can then investigate, direct remediation, and recommend penalties under Section 89.
When the Commissioner’s post is vacant, this entire chain breaks down. Complaints have nowhere to go. Companies face no accountability. People with disabilities have no recourse.
The Chief Commissioner Problem at the Centre
The problem is not only at the state level. Advocate Bajaj also informed the Court that there is currently no full-time Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities at the Central level, and reports of the hearing note that the post has had no regular appointee since 2019. It is being held by a Secretary in the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities on “additional charge.”
Bajaj argued that this arrangement contravenes Rule 30(3) of the RPwD Rules, 2017, which requires an officer to relinquish all other charge on assuming the post of Chief Commissioner. The Court drew the Union’s attention to Rule 30 when making the new appointments.
Section 74 of the RPwD Act provides for a Chief Commissioner and two Commissioners to assist them, one of whom must be a person with a disability. The Court directed the Union to fill all three posts within four weeks: a full-time Chief Commissioner and two Additional Commissioners, as the order describes them.
The Chief Commissioner plays the same oversight and enforcement role at the national level that State Commissioners play at the state level. Notices to major organizations, investigations of systemic failures, and coordination with sectoral regulators all go through this office. With the post effectively vacant in substance, this enforcement capacity has been missing.
Why RPwD Act Disability Rights India Enforcement Matters for Tech Teams
Many technology companies in India have treated the RPwD Act as a physical accessibility law, not a digital one. That understanding is incorrect and is becoming costly.
The RPwD Act covers ICT accessibility explicitly. Section 40 requires the Central Government to set accessibility standards, including for information and communication technology, and Section 42 requires the government to take measures so that electronic media and ICT content are accessible. Section 46 then puts the duty on businesses: service providers, “whether Government or private”, must provide services in line with those accessibility rules within two years of the rules being notified. Section 89 makes any contravention of the Act or its rules punishable with a fine of up to Rs 10,000 for a first offence and Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh for later ones. The full text is on DEPwD’s Acts and Rules page.
What has been missing is enforcement, and that is precisely what the July 29, 2026 Supreme Court order begins to put in place.
When a State Commissioner is appointed in Delhi or Karnataka, companies operating there will have a body that can receive accessibility complaints, investigate them, and direct remediation. Companies that have ignored ICT accessibility because enforcement was weak will find that the enforcement gap is closing.
The implications are clearest for:
Tech companies and SaaS platforms with users across India, especially in the affected states. Once Commissioners are active, inaccessible apps and web platforms become a complaint risk.
Ecommerce and consumer platforms where users with disabilities cannot complete purchases due to inaccessible checkout, missing alt text, broken keyboard navigation, or incompatible screen reader behavior.
Banks and financial services, where accessibility standards for the banking sector were notified under the RPwD Rules in July 2024, and where SEBI’s July 2025 circular made RPwD Act compliance mandatory for every SEBI-regulated entity’s websites and apps, with the audit and remediation deadline now January 31, 2027. See our banking and financial services accessibility page.
Government service portals that have historically had the worst compliance rates, now under direct judicial supervision.
The Draft RPwD Amendment Rules 2026: What ICT Companies Need to Know
The Supreme Court’s July 29 order did not happen in isolation. Just days earlier, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities issued the draft Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Amendment) Rules, 2026 for public comment: the notification (S.O. 3962(E)) is dated July 16, 2026 and was published in the Gazette on July 20, 2026, with 30 days for objections and suggestions, according to IndiaLaw’s summary of the draft. The draft replaces Rule 15(1)(c) of the 2017 Rules with binding ICT requirements.
These draft rules are the most significant development in India’s digital accessibility regulatory history.
Who they cover: The draft rules apply to all establishments that manufacture, design, develop, exercise decisive technical control over, or make available ICT products and services to persons in India. This explicitly includes foreign establishments. A US or European tech company serving Indian users is in scope.
What they require: The draft rules would make accessibility of ICT products and services to BIS standards mandatory: IS 17802 Part 1 (requirements) and Part 2 (determination of conformance). For websites, IS 17802 maps closely to WCAG 2.1 Level AA. The text is on DEPwD’s consultation page and remains a draft until it is notified. The goal is to prescribe a mandatory accessibility floor that all covered organizations must meet, not just the aspirational guidance that existed before.
Compliance timelines: The draft proposes a phased approach based on turnover.
- Establishments with annual turnover of Rs 500 crore or more will have 12 months to comply with the mandatory minimum requirements.
- Establishments below this threshold will have 18 months.
- Every covered establishment must reach full compliance within two years of notification, in line with Section 46 of the Act.
Accessibility Conformance Reports: The draft introduces mandatory ACRs, similar to VPATs in the US market, with re-testing obligations. Each ACR must be prepared or verified by qualified accessibility professionals, published free of charge in a human-readable form (HTML or accessible PDF) and a machine-readable form (JSON or XML), and updated after major changes or at least every two years. Organizations must not only achieve compliance but document it formally. Our VPAT and ACR documentation service can prepare one, and you can request an ACR quote.
Penalty enforcement: The rules align with Section 89 of the RPwD Act for fines, enforced by the Chief Commissioner and State Commissioners. An organization that does not fix a flagged lapse within 90 days of an order faces higher fines and can lose its registration, certification or authorisation, and sectoral regulators such as SEBI, RBI and TRAI keep their power to add their own penalties. Government bodies would not be allowed to buy, deploy, upgrade or renew covered ICT that does not meet the standards.
The Supreme Court’s role: The Court directed on July 29 that the entire rule-making exercise be completed within six months, and urged the Union to consider the suggestions of disability organizations and domain experts before notifying the rules. That means these draft rules, once finalized, will be the enforceable standard India’s digital accessibility landscape operates under. Until then, the Court has repeated that progressive compliance with the existing Rule 15(1) standards must continue.
The Rajive Raturi Case: 20 Years of Pushing India Forward
The July 29, 2026 order is the latest chapter in a case that has been running for over twenty years.
Rajive Raturi, a visually challenged person working with a human rights organisation, filed a Writ Petition before the Supreme Court in 2005 seeking directions to ensure safety and accessibility in public spaces. Over two decades, the case has expanded to cover built environments, transport, and the ICT ecosystem.
Despite repeated Supreme Court directions, compliance by the Union and State governments had been partial and inconsistent. Reports were filed, but implementation lagged. Standards existed but were recommendatory rather than mandatory.
The November 2024 judgment was the turning point. The Court found that Rule 15 of the RPwD Rules, 2017, which used recommendatory language, was ultra vires the RPwD Act, which requires mandatory compliance. The Court directed the Union to create a mandatory floor for accessibility across built environments, ICT, and assistive technology within three months.
The July 2026 draft rules are the government’s response to that direction. The Court kept monitoring progress, asking for status reports on February 11, 2026, and the July 29, 2026 Commissioner appointment order is the latest step in that supervision.
Census 2011 counted 2.68 crore (26.8 million) persons with disabilities in India, 2.21% of the population, and that count used the 7 disability categories of the old 1995 Act rather than the 21 recognised by the RPwD Act. For all of them, this case represents the difference between rights on paper and rights in practice.
What Organizations Should Do Now
This ruling and the draft ICT rules together create a compliance window that organizations should use now, before finalization and enforcement begin.
Step 1: Understand your exposure. If your organization operates a website, app, software platform, or any digital service accessible to users in India, you are in scope for the draft ICT rules. This includes foreign companies serving Indian users.
Step 2: Run an accessibility audit. An accessibility audit against IS 17802 and WCAG 2.1 Level AA (we also test against WCAG 2.2) will identify your current compliance gaps and give you a remediation roadmap before the rules are finalized. Starting with a gap analysis now is far cheaper than emergency remediation after enforcement begins. A $500 Quick Audit covers up to 5 key templates; see a sample audit report for what you get.
Step 3: Begin remediation. The most critical issues to fix first are those that block users from completing core tasks: inaccessible login flows, broken keyboard navigation, missing screen reader support for dynamic content, and inaccessible forms. Accessibility remediation should be planned and prioritized based on severity and user impact.
Step 4: Prepare your Accessibility Conformance Report. The draft rules make mandatory ACRs a compliance requirement. Organizations that already have a VPAT or ACR from prior audits are well positioned. If you do not, now is the time to commission one. See our VPAT and ACR documentation service.
Step 5: Set up ongoing monitoring. Accessibility is not a one-time project. New releases, third-party integrations, and content updates can introduce new barriers. Accessibility monitoring and governance keeps you compliant as your product evolves.
Step 6: Watch the rule finalization timeline. The Court has directed completion of the rule-making exercise within six months of the July 29, 2026 order, and the case returns to court on January 20, 2027. Monitor DEPwD’s notified rules and the Gazette for the final notification.
For government agencies and public sector organizations, compliance is not optional and has not been since 2016. If your public portal is not yet accessible, the combination of active State Commissioners and the new ICT rules will create direct accountability in a way that has not existed before.
Our government and public sector accessibility specialty page has more detail on what public bodies need to do.
For an audit mapped to the RPwD Act and IS 17802, see our India accessibility compliance audit. For the wider rulebook, including GIGW 3.0 and SEBI deadlines, read our India digital accessibility compliance guide.
How To Prepare Your Website For RPwD Act Enforcement In 2026
Commissioner appointments and the draft ICT rules mean complaint paths will get clearer. Use this short path before enforcement tightens.
1. Get a baseline. Run a quick automated check on AccessibilityScore.in as a starting point. It complements a manual audit; it does not replace one.
2. Talk through where you stand. New here or still scoping an India / RPwD project? Book a free 30-minute Calendly call for a first discussion and a quote. If you already have audit findings or need to walk through issues live with a developer, book the $100 one-hour technical consultation.
3. Commission the right audit. SEBI-regulated entities have until January 31, 2027 to appoint an IAAP-certified auditor, finish the accessibility audit and remediate findings (SEBI circular dated October 30, 2026). For an India-scoped engagement covering RPwD, IS 17802, GIGW 3.0 and SEBI, see our India accessibility compliance audit. Or start with a $500 Quick Audit or the $2,000 Complete Audit.
How HalfAccessible Helps With RPwD Act Compliance
HalfAccessible is founder-led by Mohammad Shadab Saifi (IAAP CPACC, WAS and CPWA) with 10+ years of accessibility experience — the kind of credentials SEBI’s circular asks regulated entities to look for in auditors. Every audit combines manual testing with NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver and TalkBack, keyboard-only testing and automated scans, and maps each issue to IS 17802 and WCAG with a code-level fix.
- India RPwD Act audit: our India accessibility compliance audit covers the RPwD Act, IS 17802, GIGW 3.0 and SEBI requirements.
- Quick Audit, $500: up to 5 templates with a top-10 issues report, a good first check. Start a $500 Quick Audit.
- Complete Audit, $2,000: a full manual audit of up to 25 templates with a re-test after you fix. Compare plans on our pricing page.
- Free 30-minute call or $100 technical session: First-time visitors and teams still scoping an RPwD / India project should book a free 30-minute Calendly call to discuss where they stand and get a quote. Teams that need an audit walkthrough, time with a developer, or a live review of site issues should book the $100 one-hour technical consultation. Prefer a short form first? Use our free needs assessment.
- ACRs and fixes: request an ACR or VPAT quote, and let our remediation developers fix what the audit finds.
The Bottom Line
India’s Supreme Court is no longer treating RPwD Act compliance as aspirational. The July 29, 2026 order mandating Commissioner appointments in 10 states within four weeks, combined with the draft ICT accessibility rules issued just days before, signals a new phase of enforcement.
For the crores of people with disabilities in India, this is a long-overdue shift.
For organizations with digital products and services in India, the compliance window is open now. Auditing your accessibility, remediating known issues, and documenting your conformance before the rules are finalized is far more cost-effective than scrambling after complaints begin.
We help organizations across India prepare for RPwD Act compliance. Start with a $500 Quick Audit, explore our India accessibility compliance audit, book a free 30-minute Calendly call if you are still scoping, or book the $100 one-hour technical consultation when you need an audit walkthrough or live issue review.
Also read: WCAG India 2026: digital accessibility compliance guide for agencies
Sources:
- Draft rules on non-negotiable accessibility standards for the ICT sector — Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD)
- RPwD Act, 2016, RPwD Rules, 2017 and notified accessibility standards — DEPwD
- List of State/UT Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities — Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities
- RPwD Act, 2016 and rules made thereunder: mandatory compliance by all Regulated Entities and extension of timelines (July 31, 2026) and extension of timeline (October 30, 2026) — SEBI
- Supreme Court sets four-week deadline for independent disability commissioners (order of July 29, 2026; next hearing January 20, 2027) — Disability Rights India
- Draft RPwD Amendment Rules 2026: key takeaways — IndiaLaw
- Supreme Court Directs States Without Commissioners Under RPwD Act to Make Appointments — Live Law, July 30, 2026
- Supreme Court Sets Four-Week Deadline for Disability Commissioners, Orders Revised Accessibility Rules — Law Trend
- The New Accessibility Conformance Regime: Key Takeaways from the Draft RPwD Amendment Rules, 2026 — Mondaq / India Law
- Global Tech Firms to Come Under India’s Mandatory Disability-Access Rules — The Print
- Ministry of Social Justice Releases Draft Accessibility Rules 2026 — NASSCOM
- Rajive Raturi v Union of India, November 8, 2024 — Indian Kanoon
- How the RPwD Act Impacts Digital Accessibility in India — Deque
- Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities — Law and Justice Wiki
- RPWD Act Compliance for Websites — Continual Engine
- Has Landmark SC Order on Accessibility Translated on Ground? — The Print
