Madras High Court launches India’s first disabled friendly court website

This inclusion has made it the first among Indian courts to have its website redesigned according to GIGW and getting a certificate for it. 

Assistive technologies like screen reader, colour contrast mechanisms for visually impaired people, transcript of audio for audio-impaired people have been added to the website so that disabled people can access it better. The GIGW assumed significance after a writ petition was filed in Madras High Court in 2015, calling for the court’s intervention in ensuring that government websites were disabled friendly. 

The plea pointed out that over 5,000 government websites belonging to different ministries and departments use different technology standards, design layouts, navigation architecture, look and feel. But none of them were disabled friendly. Though notices were issued, the progress was limited before the then Madras High Court Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul directed the authorities to ensure compliance within a time frame.