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Justice Sunanda Bhandare Foundation v. Union of India

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2026 INSC 441Decided 28 Apr 2026
W.P.(C) No.-000116-000116 - 1998
Justice Vikram Nath · Justice Sandeep Mehta

Background

This is a long-running public interest litigation (originally filed in 1998, now tagged with connected appeals and diary matters) concerning implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 across India, and related directions requiring National Law Universities to monitor compliance under a scheme called "Project Ability Empowerment." In an earlier judgment dated 12 September 2025, the Court had directed all States and Union Territories to appoint Nodal Officers to coordinate this compliance work, but by this hearing several States and Union Territories still had not complied, prompting the Court to express displeasure and warn that Chief Secretaries could be summoned personally if compliance continued to lapse.

Decision Breakdown

Noting that a status report showed almost all States and Union Territories had by now appointed the required Nodal Officers, the Court held that the National Law Universities entrusted with "Project Ability Empowerment" could now proceed with a detailed, structured, and substantive assessment of how well the Disabilities Act is being implemented across the country, not a merely formal review. It specifically directed National Law University, Delhi to map the Union of India's own compliance, with the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment required to depute a Joint Secretary-level officer to coordinate. The Court also kept up pressure on the Union of India to respond to an unresolved query from its earlier judgment about reservation-related promotion policy, giving a final opportunity to respond, and listed the matter for further monitoring on 22 September 2026.

Lesson Learnt

The Supreme Court can use continuing/ongoing supervisory jurisdiction (a "continuing mandamus") to keep monitoring a statute's real-world implementation for years after the original judgment, using institutions like universities as independent monitors and holding individual government officials personally accountable for compliance delays.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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