‘Right to digital access emerges as an intrinsic component of the right to life and liberty (Article 21):’ Supreme Court

On April 30, 2025 (Wednesday), the Supreme Court (SC) of India directed changes to the process of digital KYC (Know-Your-Customer) so that it can be made accessible to persons with disabilities, especially facial / eye disfigurements due to acid attacks and visual impairments. This was directed by the two-judge bench of the SC after hearing the writ petitions seeking directions to formulate appropriate rules and guidelines for conducting Digital KYC/ e-KYC / Video KYC process through alternative methods, to ensure that the process is more inclusive and accessible to all persons with disabilities-particularly acid attack survivors suffering from permanent facial/eye disfigurement and similarly placed individuals, including persons with blindness and low vision - in accordance with the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017, and Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The matter was heard by Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan. 

In the landmark judgment, the SC bench said that the states should design and implement inclusive digital ecosystems that serve not only the privileged but also the marginalized. The operative part of the judgment reads, “At this juncture, we may also wish to observe that in the contemporary era, where access to essential services, governance, education, healthcare, and economic opportunities is increasingly mediated through digital platforms, the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution must be reinterpreted in light of these technological realities. The digital divide – characterized by unequal access to digital infrastructure, skills, and content – continues to perpetuate systemic 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 assistive technologies. Similarly, individuals in remote or rural areas often face poor connectivity, limited digital literacy, and a scarcity of content in regional languages, effectively denying them meaningful access to e-governance and welfare delivery systems. In such circumstances, the State’s obligations under Article 21– read in conjunction 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 of all vulnerable and marginalized populations. Bridging the digital divide is no longer merely 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 intrinsic component of the right to life and liberty, necessitating that the State proactively design and implement inclusive digital ecosystems that serve not only the privileged but also the marginalized, those who have been historically excluded.” Some of the directions issued by the SC in the judgment are as follows,

• “The respondent authorities/Ministries shall direct all REs, whether government or private to follow accessibility standards as prescribed from time to time. The respondents shall appoint a nodal officer in every department responsible for digital accessibility compliance.
• All regulated entities must mandatorily undergo periodical accessibility audit by certified accessibility professionals and involve persons with blindness in user acceptance testing phase while designing any app or website or in case of any new feature being launched.
• … issue guidelines to all regulated entities to adopt and incorporate alternative modes for verifying the “liveness” or capturing a “live photograph” of the customers…
• …issue appropriate clarifications/guidelines/directions to all regulated entities that they have Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and on-boarding of new customers can be done using the video-based KYC process or the “V-CIP” procedure…”