Supreme Court lays down guidelines for representation of disability on screen; terms such as ‘retard’ and ‘cripple’ to be avoided

The Supreme Court of India laid down guidelines for the portrayal of people with disability on the screen on July 8th. The guidelines include the avoidance of terminology such as ‘cripple’ and ‘retard’ which are believed to perpetuate discrimination. “Creators must strive for accurate representation of medical conditions to prevent misinformation and stereotypes. The misleading portrayal of what a condition entails may perpetuate misinformation about the condition and influence stereotypes about persons with such impairments, aggravating the disability. Visual media should strive to depict the diverse realities of persons with disabilities, showcasing not only their challenges but also their successes, talents, and contributions to society. They should neither be lampooned based on myths such as blind people bumping into objects in their path, nor presented as ‘super-cripples’ with extraordinary abilities,” the Supreme Court bench said. 

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The Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud presided over the hearing based on a petition filed by Nipun Malhotra who is known to be a disability rights activist. Advocate Sanjay Ghose arguing on behalf of Nipun highlighted that speech defects and problems with memory are often used as tropes from which the film derives its humour. “We must distinguish disabling humour that demeans and disparages persons with disability from disability humour, which challenges conventional wisdom about disability. While disability humour attempts to better understand and explain disability, disabling humour denigrates it... We take this opportunity to provide a framework of the portrayal of persons with disabilities in the visual media that aligns with the anti-discrimination and dignity affirming objectives of the Constitution as well as the rights of persons with disabilities,” the bench also comprising of justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra added.