New Delhi: The Department of Disability Empowerment, which comes under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, has decided not to move forward on its proposal to exclude minor economic mistakes from the category of crime by amending the RPWD Act. The Finance Ministry last month proposed to exclude minor mistakes from the category of offenses under 19 laws, including check bounce and default in repayment, etc. Accordingly, the Department of Disability Empowerment, which comes under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, uploaded a proposal to amend the Disability Rights Act on its website last week and sought its response by 10 July.
The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities said on Thursday that it received feedback from various parties during the consultation process that the provisions of the Disability Rights Act, 2016 are sufficient to protect the disabled and enforce the law. The department said in a statement that everyone believes that excluding these mistakes from the category of crime would be like tampering with the spirit of the law for the protection and protection of the rights of RPWDs. The Department stated that it has been decided that there are sufficient grounds to discontinue the consultation process on the proposal to amend the RPWD, and it is called off. Opposing this proposal, social workers had requested the government not to pursue the proposed amendment in the RPWD Act to exclude minor economic mistakes from the category of crime as it would wash away the small achievements achieved over the years. And it will have a negative effect on RPWDs.
A joint statement was issued on behalf of a total of 125 people, including organizations, civil society organizations and activists working for the rights of RPWDs. In it, the activists in one voice voiced their opposition to the proposal to “soften or eliminate” the punitive provisions under the RPWD, 2016. The department had proposed to amend provisions 89, 92A and 93 of the PwD and add a new provision 95A.
