Permanent Ramps and Digital Accessibility in Polling Stations are Mandatory for Persons with Disabilities

The petitioner, a person with a disability (PwD), filed a writ of mandamus seeking directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure that all designated polling stations contain "Assured Minimum Facilities" (AMF), specifically permanent ramps in compliance with the Harmonized Guidelines 2021.

The petitioner further requested that electoral data and websites be made accessible in ePUB/HTML formats with multi-modal CAPTCHA, as mandated by the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017.

While the ECI and State authorities claimed compliance through various circulars and directives, the petitioner highlighted continued reliance on inadequate temporary wooden ramps and inaccessible digital interfaces.

The court applied Section 11 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which mandates that the ECI ensure all polling stations are accessible and electoral materials are understandable to PwDs.

It relied on the definitions of "public building" and "establishment" under Sections 2(w) and 2(i) of the Act.

Procedural compliance was guided by Rule 15 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017 and GIGW 3.0/WCAG 2.1 guidelines for website accessibility.

The court followed the precedent set by the Supreme Court in Disabled Rights Group v. Chief Election Commissioner, which directed the provision of permanent ramps in public buildings used as polling stations.

The court observed that despite long-standing judicial directions and ECI circulars dating back to 2005, many educational institutions and public buildings used as polling booths still lack permanent ramps.

The court noted that temporary wooden ramps are often non-friendly and fail to meet the "1:12 gradient" specification mandated by national standards.

It reasoned that since these buildings are "public buildings" under the 2016 Act, they are legally required to be accessible regardless of elections.

Regarding digital accessibility, the court took note of the ECI's correspondence with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) dated 14.11.2025, requesting an accessibility audit.

The court determined that while progress was being made, an order was necessary to ensure these processes were finalized and enforced.

Furthermore, the ECI was directed to take expeditious steps to complete the process of making its websites and digital platforms easily accessible and usable for PwDs per the GIGW and WCAG standards.

No order as to costs was made.