For disabled citizens to have the police they deserve
The Accessibility Standards for built infrastructure could make our law enforcement apparatus more disabled-friendly
This opinion was published in The Hindu on December 18, 2021.
About the Authors
Rahul Bajaj is Senior Associate Fellow [Disability Rights] at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. In this role, Rahul works with Vidhi's Disability Inclusion and Access team to provide high quality thought leadership on legal policy issues concerning persons with disabilities, assists the team with various origination and engaged projects, spearheads the team's strategic litigation efforts and assists in building mutually beneficial partnerships. Rahul is also a practicing lawyer in the courts of Delhi and the Co-Founder of an NGO called Mission Accessibility which also works on advancing the rights of the disabled. Rahul's prior experiences including working in the Disputes Practice in Trilegal, Delhi, pursuing two masters in law degrees from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and clerking for the current Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud.
Damini is Team Lead for Disability (Inclusion & Access). She primarily handles engaged/commissioned projects from various ministries, statutory authorities and regulators, where she provides legal research and drafting support at various stages of law-making. Damini works on a variety of legal and regulatory matters and allied issues in public policy. Prior to joining Vidhi, Damini worked at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co and thereafter at Tuli & Co where she focused extensively on insurance regulatory advisory (non-contentious) work, product development and general corporate matters. She has also undertaken policy work and advised on several other regulatory issues arising under the foreign contribution laws, labeling rules of packaged commodities, and law governing drugs and cosmetics in India. She has also worked as a legal consultant to the Central Information Commission and advised on various issues arising under the Right to Information Act, 2005. Damini graduated from the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata (NUJS) in 2008 with a B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) and obtained her LL.M. degree in regulatory laws and policy from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2013.