Delhi HC Asks CBFC To Address Accessibility Compliance Allegations

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The Delhi High Court on Friday requested responses from the Centre and the Central Board of Film Certification regarding a plea to revoke the certifications of Transformers One and Devara: Part 1, along with any other recently released films lacking essential accessibility features.

Justice Sanjeev Narula also called for replies from the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Viacom18 Studios, Yuvasudha Arts LLP, and NTR Arts LLP. The matter is scheduled for further hearing on December 5.

The petition was filed by visually impaired individuals Mithilesh Kumar Yadav and Suman Bhokray, who argued that Devara: Part 1 and Transformers One do not include necessary accessibility features for hearing and visually impaired audiences, such as closed captioning (CC), open captioning (OC), and audio description (AD). This, they claim, is in violation of guidelines established by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

According to the Guidelines for Accessibility Standards in the Public Exhibition of Feature Films in Cinema Theatres for Persons with Hearing and Visual Impairment, “All feature films certified in more than one language must provide at least one accessibility feature each for hearing and visually impaired audiences—CC/OC and AD—within 6 months of the guidelines’ implementation date.”

Advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi, representing the petitioners, noted that these guidelines were issued on March 15, 2024, with a compliance deadline of September 14. The petitioners argue that films like Devara: Part 1 and Transformers One were certified without adhering to these requirements, leaving them at a disadvantage.

The petitioners expressed their frustration, stating that they struggled to understand the content of both films due to the absence of accessibility features when they attempted to watch them in theaters. Transformers One, produced by Viacom18 Studios, was released on September 20, while Devara: Part 1, produced by Yuvasudha Arts LLP and NTR Arts LLP, premiered on September 27.

Moreover, the petition highlights the petitioners’ attempts to investigate the non-implementation of these guidelines, only to find that the CBFC continued certifying multilingual films without adhering to the established standards. This practice severely inconveniences visually and hearing-impaired individuals who cannot fully engage with the films.

The plea calls for the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities to take necessary measures to enforce compliance with the guidelines and uphold the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.