'Right To Digital Access Part Of Article 21' : Supreme Court Directs To Make eKYC Process Accessible To Persons With Disabilities

The Supreme Court today directed to revise the digital Know-Your-Customer (KYC) norms to enable persons with facial disfiguration due to acid attacks or visual impairment to access banking and e-governance services.

In the judgment, a bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan also emphasised the obligation of the State to design an inclusive digital ecosystem which is accessible to all, including the marginalised and vulnerable persons. Since many welfare schemes and government services are provided through online platforms, the Court said that bridging the digital divide has become a necessity to ensure a dignified life. In this context, the Court traced the right to access digital services to Article 21 of the Constitution. The Court directed that all government portals, learning platforms, financial technology servies must be "universally accessible" to all vulnerable and marginalised sections.

The judgment authored by Justice Mahadevan stated :

"At this juncture, we wish to observe that in the contemporary era, where access to essential services, governance, education, health care and economic opportunities are increasingly mediated through digital platforms, the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution must be re-interpreted in light of these technological realities.

The digital divide, characterised by unequal access to digital infrastructure, skills and content, continues to perpetuate systematic exclusion not only of persons with disabilities but also of large sections of rural populations, senior citizens, economically weaker communities and linguistic minorities.

The principle of substantive equality demands that digital transformation be both inclusive and equitable. As already pointed out, persons with disabilities encounter unique barriers in accessing online services due to the lack of accessible websites, applications and assisted technologies. Similarly, individuals in remote or rural areas often face poor connectivity, limited digital literacy and the scarcity of content in regional languages, effectively denying them meaningful access to e-governance and welfare delivery systems.

In such circumstances, the State's obligation under Article 21 read with Articles 14, 15 and 38 of the Constitution must encompass the responsibility to ensure that digital infrastructure, government portals, online learning platforms, and financial technologies are universally accessible, inclusive and responsive to the needs to all vulnerable marginalised populations.

Bridging the digital divide is no longer a matter of policy discretion but has become a constitutional imperative to secure a life of dignity, autonomy and equal participation in public life. The right to digital access therefore emerges as an instinctive component of the right to life and liberty, necessitating that the state proactively design and implement inclusive digital ecosystem that serves not only the privileged but also the marginalised and those who are being historically excluded."

Directions given to make eKYC accessible for persons with disabilities 

Holding that acid attack survivors and persons with visual impairment are entitled to the protection under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the Court issued twenty directions to make the eKYC process accessible to them. The directions will be known once the judgment is uploaded.

The judgment authored by Justice Mahadevan noted that petitioners, who suffer from facial and eye disfigurement due to acid attacks, or visual impairment, are recognised as Persons with Disabilities as per the 2016 Act. They are unable to complete the eKYC process which require them to perform tasks such as blinking, moving the head, positioning their head within specified frames etc. As a result, they encounter delays or are unable to establish their identities to open bank accounts or to access essential governmental schemes.

"The constitutional and legal provisions confer upon the aggrieved petitioners the statutory right to demand accessibility and appropriate reasonable accommodation in the digital KYC process. Therefore, it is imperative that the digital KYC process guidelines are revised with the accessibility code," Justice Mahadevan pronounced.

On January 28, it had reserved judgment on the two writ petitions seeking directions or guidelines for persons with blindness/low vision and acid attack survivors, respectively, to conduct digital Know Your Customer (KYC)/e-KYC/video KYC.  

In the first petition(Pragya Prasun vs Union of India), the guidelines were sought for an inclusive KYC process for acid attack survivors and persons with permanent eye damage. Directions have been sought from Central authorities for framing appropriate guidelines providing for alternative methods to conduct the Digital KYC/e-KYC process for acid attack survivors suffering from permanent eye disfigurement or eye burns, with the view to making the Digital KYC/e-KYC process more accessible and inclusive towards all disabled persons, particularly acid attack survivors.

The petitioner prayed that the Centre clarifies the meaning and interpretation of 'Live Photograph' as mentioned in the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) – KYC Master Directions, 2016 for conducting the Digital KYC/e-KYC and suitable alternatives be framed for this 'live photograph' considering the challenges faced by acid attack survivors and those with permanent eye-disfigurement.