On Tuesday, September 16, 2025, the Madras High Court called for an official response from the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition. The petition argues that the ECI’s website and numerous polling stations lack universal accessibility, thereby infringing upon the fundamental voting rights of disabled individuals.
The First Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan, instructed ECI standing counsel Niranjan Rajagopalan to formally acknowledge the notice and submit a reply within four weeks. The judges emphasized that this should not be viewed as adversarial litigation, but rather a pursuit of a legitimate and critical cause.
Advocate for the Disabled: Vaishnavi Jayakumar
The court acknowledged Vaishnavi Jayakumar, a prominent cross-disability rights activist and the petitioner, as an ideal advocate for the disabled community. Reviewing photographs presented by her counsel, S. Tanvi, the judges expressed concern over the physical barriers, such as steps, questioning how disabled individuals could be expected to navigate them to cast their votes.
Chief Justice Shrivastava addressed Mr. Rajagopalan directly, stating, “We will take this matter seriously. While the ECI has already undertaken various initiatives to enhance accessibility at polling stations, it is imperative to ensure that all remaining physical barriers are completely removed.”
The Core of the Plea
In her affidavit, Ms. Jayakumar highlighted Section 11 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. This section mandates that all polling stations must be accessible to individuals with disabilities and that all electoral materials should be presented in easily understandable and accessible formats. She noted that despite this seven-year-old statutory requirement and repeated appeals to the ECI, many polling booths remain inaccessible, and essential information on the ECI website is not barrier-free for disabled users.
Her affidavit underscored the gravity of the situation: “This writ petition addresses the critical issue that polling stations and the ECI’s websites—used even to verify voter status and candidate lists—are not universally accessible. This effectively denies persons with disabilities and those with mobility impairments their invaluable right to vote.”
Petitioner Calls for Multi-Modal CAPTCHAs on ECI Website
The petitioner specifically pointed out that the official ECI websites, including the main portal and voter search platforms, currently rely solely on image-based CAPTCHAs. She asserted that these should be replaced or supplemented with multi-modal CAPTCHAs, offering alternative options such as audio, text, logic puzzles, and One-Time Passwords (OTPs) to ensure broader accessibility.
“The ECI holds the responsibility for conducting elections nationwide. By implementing straightforward measures, such as providing accessible candidate information online and ensuring ramps at polling booths, the entire electoral process can become truly barrier-free and legally compliant,” the petitioner concluded.