SARTHAK JHA Vs. GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 ("the 1995 PWD Act") was repealed by Sec. 102(1) of the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 ("the 2016 RPWD Act"). The concept of 'mental retardation", contained in the 1995 PWD Act and defined in Sec. 2(r)[1] thereof gave way, with the advance understanding of disabilities to the expression 'intellectual disability", as defined in Clause 2 of the Schedule to the 2016 RPWD Act, which reads thus:

(2.) Though it is not of particular significance, it may be noted that 'mental illness' is also defined in Clause 3 of the Schedule to the 2016 RPWD Act, which reads thus: "3. Mental behaviour,- "mental illness' means a substantial disorder of thinking, mood, perception, orientation or memory that grossly impairs judgment, behaviour, capacity to recognise reality or ability to meet the ordinary demands of life, but does not include retardation which is a condition of arrested or incomplete development of mind of a person, specially characterised by subnormality of intelligence."

(3.) The Schedule to the 2016 RPWD Act sets out the 'specified disabilities", for the purposes of Sec. 2(zc)[2] thereof.