‘Digital entry a elementary proper’: Supreme Court docket guidelines to make e-KYC accessible for disabled | India Information – The Instances of India

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court docket on Wednesday directed modifications to the digital Know Your Buyer (KYC) course of to make sure accessibility for individuals with disabilities, together with people with facial disfigurements and visible impairments.
A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan mentioned that digital entry is an important component of the correct to life underneath Article 21 of the Structure. The courtroom additional directed that every one authorities web sites, academic platforms, and monetary expertise providers be made universally accessible to weak and marginalized communities.
“The digital divide—marked by disparities in entry to digital infrastructure, expertise, and content material—continues to bolster systemic exclusion not just for individuals with disabilities but in addition for big sections of rural populations, senior residents, economically weaker teams, and linguistic minorities,” the bench noticed.
The apex courtroom held that constitutional and statutory provisions grant the petitioners a authorized proper to demand accessible and inclusive digital KYC processes, with applicable lodging.
Addressing the challenges confronted by individuals with disabilities, significantly in rural areas, the bench additionally famous that as important providers like healthcare are more and more delivered by digital means, the correct to life have to be interpreted in mild of those technological developments.
It added that bridging the digital divide has change into crucial for guaranteeing entry to welfare schemes and authorities providers, and for upholding the dignity and rights of all residents.