FROM PROTECTION TO RIGHTS: INTERROGATING THE TRANSFORMATIVE POTENTIAL OF INDIA'S CONTEMPORARY DISABILITY LAW FRAMEWORK

Abstract

This paper examines the evolution and contemporary structure of the Indian legal framework governing persons with mental disabilities, with particular emphasis on the transition from the paternalistic regime of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 to the rights-based architecture under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017. The research interrogates whether this legislative transformation has substantively reconfigured legal capacity, access to healthcare, anti-discrimination protections and social inclusion for persons with mental disabilities, or whether it remains constrained by doctrinal inconsistencies and institutional inertia. Adopting a doctrinal and analytical methodology, the paper examines constitutional provisions, statutory frameworks and judicial precedents of the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts. It situates Indian developments within the normative influence of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), highlighting the shift from substituted decision-making to supported decision-making. The paper argues that while the 2016 and 2017 enactments represent a paradigmatic shift toward autonomy, dignity and equality, significant structural and doctrinal tensions persist particularly regarding guardianship, involuntary treatment and enforceability of socio-economic entitlements. The paper concludes by proposing targeted legislative harmonization, strengthened institutional accountability and deeper constitutionalization of disability jurisprudence to realize the transformative promise of India's contemporary disability framework.