New Delhi: The Court of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (CCPD) has imposed fines of ₹10,000 each on 155 establishments for failing to meet digital accessibility standards for websites, mobile applications, and other online platforms. The penalized entities include several central ministries, their departments, and private organizations.
The CCPD has warned that stricter penalties will be imposed on establishments that fail to comply with accessibility requirements in the upcoming review after February 28. The fined organizations are required to deposit the penalty amount into the National Fund for Persons with Disabilities.
The court had previously directed all ministries to submit access audit reports and confirm whether access auditors had been appointed to assess their compliance. However, only 20 establishments have appointed auditors, and merely six have submitted audit reports. The entities that have complied include:
- Ministry of External Affairs
- Tata Digital Private Ltd (Tata Neu)
- Reliance Industries Ltd (Jio Set-Top Box)
- National Depository Ltd
- Pluxee India Private Ltd
- Yatra Online Ltd
Several ministries and departments have appointed access auditors, including Labour, Environment and Forests, Urban Affairs, Information and Broadcasting, Development of the North-East Region, the Department of Economic Affairs (Ministry of Finance), and the Department of Communication (Reserve Bank of India).
However, a long list of government bodies—such as the Ministries of Home Affairs, Defence, Finance, Health, Agriculture, Railways, Transport, Commerce, Women and Child Development, Rural Development, and Tribal Affairs—along with NITI Aayog and the National Informatics Centre have failed to comply with CCPD’s directives.
A compliance review was conducted on January 28, following an earlier directive from August 7, 2024. Dissatisfied with the progress, the court extended the deadline to February 5 for submitting audit reports or proof of auditor engagement, and further extended the final deadline to February 12.
The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities had earlier provided a list of empanelled auditors to assist organizations in meeting compliance standards. However, the review revealed that most establishments have still failed to take necessary action.
The CCPD has reiterated the urgency of ensuring equal digital access for all individuals, particularly for those who are blind, deaf, or deaf-blind, and has signaled its intent to enforce stricter consequences for non-compliance.
