- The Supreme Court ruled that creative freedom does not include the right to lampoon, stereotype, misrepresent, or disparage persons with disabilities in films and visual media.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- It is an international human rights treaty established by the United Nations to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities.
- It requires parties to the convention to promote, protect, and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities and guarantee their full equality under the law.
- This was the twenty-first century’s first U.N. human rights treaty opened for signature in 2007.
- India is a state party to the convention.
- The court stated that if the overall message of a work infringes on the rights of persons with disabilities, it is not protected speech.
- However, in certain cases, if a stereotypical or disparaging portrayal is justified by the film’s overall message, the filmmaker’s right to retain such portrayal must be balanced against the fundamental and statutory rights of those portrayed.
- This judgment was based on a petition, alleging an insensitive portrayal of persons with disabilities in the film “Aankh Micholi” produced by Sony Pictures.
- Comics with disabilities use self-deprecating humour to critique the social order and counter stereotypical images.
- The court highlighted how films and visual media tend to perpetuate myths about disabilities, often portraying persons with certain disabilities as “super-cripples.”
- The judgment denounced the use of words such as “cripple” and “spastic,” which stigmatize those with disabilities and frowned upon terms like “afflicted,” “suffering,” and “victim,” noting they contribute to a negative self-image.
- The court advised authorities to involve persons with disabilities as major stakeholders on statutory committees while making decisions to protect their rights, especially under the Cinematograph Rules.
Dig Deeper: What are government obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities?
