Digital Exclusion for People with Disabilities (PwDs)

Context: Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) directed revisions to Know-Your-Customer (KYC) digital norms to ensure accessibility for ‘persons with disabilities’ (PwD), reinterpreting Article 21 of the Constitution to encompass the ‘right to digital access’.

What approach does the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016 take?

The RPwD Act, 2016 adopts a social-barrier model of disability. This model shifts the focus from the individual’s impairments to the environmental, attitudinal, and systemic barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society.

Key Features

• Disability is not just medical but includes psycho-social and societal factors.
• Emphasizes equal participation in all spheres — civil, political, economic, and cultural.
• Aligns with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
• Section 42 mandates accessible digital, print, and electronic media using:
  • Audio descriptions
  • Sign language interpretation
  • Captions
  • Universal design standards
• Enshrines substantive equality and non-discrimination under the law.

Why do banks and other financial and government institutions mandate collecting KYC details?

KYC (Know Your Customer) is a mandatory regulatory mechanism under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, aimed at:

• Preventing money laundering, terrorism financing, identity fraud, and tax evasion.
• Ensuring identity verification of individuals accessing banking, telecom, insurance, pension, and other services.
• Facilitating government benefit delivery, such as:
  • Aadhaar-linked Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT)
  • Scholarships
  • Pensions and subsidies

Regulatory Framework

• RBI’s Master Directions on KYC (2016) introduced:
  • Customer Due Diligence (CDD) frameworks
  • Video-based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP)
• SEBI, IRDAI, and DoT also mandate digital KYC for investor and telecom services.

How does the current digital KYC framework exclude visually impaired individuals and acid attack survivors?

The present KYC systems are not inclusive and often violate accessibility mandates, effectively excluding PwDs from remote identity verification.

Exclusionary Aspects

• Visual-based prompts:
  • Eye-blinking
  • Reading on-screen flashing codes
  • Aligning faces or ID cards on camera — not screen-reader or audio-friendly
• Signature requirements:
  • PAN applications don’t accept thumb impressions.
  • Digital forms often reject assistive devices or alternate methods.
• Biometric challenges:
  • Aadhaar biometric scanners lack accessibility features like audio feedback.
  • Devices are rarely designed to accommodate people with facial disfigurement.
• Website and app issues:
  • Violate ICT Accessibility Standards (2021, 2022)
  • No screen-reader compatibility, audio cues, or clear form navigation
• Regulatory rigidity:
  • RBI directions prohibit prompting, even though many PwDs require assistance.
  • Lack of uniformity: Each institution designs its own tests without PwD inputs.

Legal Backing for Intervention

• Supreme Court rulings (e.g., Rajive Raturi v. Union of India, 2024) have affirmed that:
  • Accessibility is central to Article 21 (Right to Life and Dignity).
  • Digital access must be inclusive by design, not as an afterthought.
  • Exclusion of PwDs from digital services violates Articles 14, 15, 21, and 38.

Conclusion

The current digital KYC framework, while crucial for national security and governance, structurally excludes many disabled citizens. A universal design approach, informed by the RPwD Act, 2016 and Supreme Court directives, is needed to ensure equitable digital inclusion for all.

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