Differently-abled shouldn't be asked to remove prosthetic limbs/calipers at airports: SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed the DGCA to ensure that differently-abled persons are not asked to remove prosthetic limbs/calipers to maintain human dignity while ensuring the requirement of security checks. A bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Justice V Ramasubramanian also said that lifting a person with disability during air travel or security checkup is inhumane, and held that it should not be done without his or her consent.

"Another aspect we want to mention is about some of the differently-abled person use prosthetic limbs/calipers. Sometimes, they are directed to remove their prosthetic limbs/calipers as a part of the security check.

"In the draft guidelines circulated, it has been mentioned that scanning of prosthetic limbs/calipers though full body scanner but to what extent differently- abled persons with prosthetic limbs/calipers are required to be checked for the purpose of security should be in a manner where, no such person is asked to remove prosthetic limbs/calipers to maintain human

dignity while ensuring the requirement of security checks," the bench said.

The apex court was hearing a plea filed by Jeeja Ghosh, suffering from cerebral palsy, who was off-loaded by Spicejet while she was on her way from Kolkata to Goa to attend a conference in 2012.