GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court has directed the revision of digital Know Your Customer (eKYC) norms to ensure accessibility for persons with facial disfiguration from acid attacks and those with visual impairments. The judgment, delivered on Wednesday, April 30, by Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, called for universal access to digital services, stating that the right to digital inclusion is embedded within Article 21 of the Constitution.
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The bench highlighted the State’s constitutional obligation to design a digital ecosystem that accommodates all citizens, especially the marginalised. As government services and welfare schemes increasingly shift to online platforms, the Court emphasised the need to bridge the digital divide to ensure a dignified life for all. Justice Mahadevan, stated that the right to life must be reinterpreted in the digital age, considering widespread inequalities in infrastructure, skills, and content access.
The Court observed that persons with disabilities often face unique barriers in completing eKYC due to biometric or facial recognition requirements such as blinking, head movements, or screen-based signatures, which many cannot perform. It held that such individuals are protected under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and have the legal right to demand accessibility and reasonable accommodation in digital services.
The Court was responding to writ petitions filed by Pragya Prasun and Amar Jain, representing acid attack survivors and persons with blindness, respectively. The petitioners detailed the inaccessibility of existing eKYC methods and their exclusion from banking and welfare schemes.
In response, the Court issued directions—details to follow upon full publication of the judgment—mandating that eKYC systems be revised in line with accessibility standards, thus making digital access a constitutional imperative.