The Delhi High Court, presided over by Justice Sanjeev Narula, has called upon the Centre and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to address allegations of non-compliance with accessibility guidelines in the certification of recent films. The court’s query follows a petition urging the revocation of certifications for movies like ‘Transformers One’ and ‘Devara: Part 1’, which reportedly lack mandated accessibility features for visually and hearing-impaired audiences.
Petitioners Mithilesh Kumar Yadav and Suman Bhokray, both visually impaired, assert that these films do not include closed captioning (CC), open captioning (OC), or audio description (AD) features, contrary to the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s guidelines. These guidelines, effective from March 15, 2024, require all multilingual films to incorporate at least one accessibility feature for the hearing and visually impaired within six months of implementation.
Represented by advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi, the petitioners highlighted that the films in question were released after the September 14 deadline, yet failed to meet these accessibility standards. This oversight led to significant viewing challenges for the petitioners, who were unable to fully comprehend the movie content in cinema halls.
The plea also implicates the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Viacom18 Studios, Yuvasudha Arts LLP, and NTR Arts LLP, all of whom have been asked to respond to these allegations. The court has scheduled the next hearing for December 5.
