The Delhi High Court has directed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) to finalise and notify within three months a set of guidelines ensuring that Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms are accessible to persons with disabilities.
The guidelines are expected to mandate accessibility features such as subtitles, closed captions, audio descriptions, and Indian Sign Language interpretation, enabling viewers who are visually or hearing impaired to access streaming content on an equal basis.
The direction came in response to petitions filed by disability rights advocates who argued that OTT content must comply with the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which guarantees equal access to information and communication technologies.
The petitioners pointed out that the absence of accessibility features in most online content effectively excludes millions of users with disabilities from cultural and entertainment platforms.
The Court in its ordertook note of the Ministry’s earlier draft accessibility guidelines released in October 2025, which sought public feedback. These drafts proposed a phased rollout, requiring newly released content to include at least one accessibility feature within six months of the final notification, and setting progressive targets for older content over a two-year period. The Court has now granted the Ministry three months to finalise and implement the rules, emphasizing that further delays will not be tolerated.
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