New Delhi (PTI): In a bid to remove the barriers to access, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud has constituted a committee headed by apex court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat to conduct an audit of "physical and functional access" of the top court premises to make them disabled friendly.

The 'Supreme Court Committee on Accessibility' has been given a broad mandate to prepare and release a questionnaire for persons with disabilities, including the apex court employees, advocates, litigants and interns, who visit the top court premises to assess the nature and extent of problems they face.

According to a notice uploaded on the apex court website, the committee will prepare a report on the accessibility audit, result of the survey of persons with disability and recommendations/proposals geared towards removing the barriers to access.

"The Chief Justice of India has been pleased to constitute a committee namely the 'Supreme Court Committee on Accessibility' to conduct accessibility audit of physical as well as functional access to the Supreme Court chaired by Justice S Ravindra Bhat, Judge, Supreme Court of India," said the December 19 notice.

The notice said the other members of the committee include Dr Sanjay Jain, professor of National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, Shakti Mishra, librarian nominated from the apex court, V Sridhar Reddy, advocate nominated by the Supreme Court Bar Association and Nilesh Singit, independent accessibility expert nominated by the Centre for Disability Studies (NALSAR University of Law).

Additional registrar of the Supreme Court, Ajay Agrawal, is the member (secretary) of the committee.

As per the notice, the committee will conduct an accessibility audit of the top court premises and its functioning extending to both physical as well as technology accessibility.

It said one of the broad mandates of the committee is to carry out any other activity required to conduct the accessibility audit.

On November 24, in a bid to make the software used by the Supreme Court accessible to those visually impaired, Justice Chandrachud had, in the midst of a hearing, sought the assistance of senior lawyer S K Rungta and asked him how he follows written arguments and gets them converted into a braille document.

Rungta, who lost his vision at a very young age, was responding to the written submissions of some senior lawyers in a case related to the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission before a bench headed by the CJI.

Chandrachud had then said some changes have been made to the official website of the top court by making it accessible through audio captchas.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Dubai, Feb 23 (PTI): Virat Kohli said his plan was to attack the pacers and take less risk against the spinners in the high-pressure Champions Trophy clash against Pakistan here on Sunday and having steered the team home with a sparkling hundred, his 36-year-old body is happy to get a week-long break before the next game.

India's six-wicket win against arch-rivals has almost sealed a semifinal spot for the side and all but knocked the hosts out of the tournament.

Kohli got majority of his runs from running the quick singles and doubles as he collected only seven fours in his 100 not out off 111 balls.

"At 36, a week off is very good. It takes a lot out of me to put in that much effort," said the superstar referring to the last group A clash against New Zealand on March 2.

He completed his 51st ODI hundred with a four off the last ball of the match. Heading into the high-stakes game, Kohli had his fair share of struggles against the spinners.

"It feels good to bat in that manner in an important game, where a spot for semis was there to be taken, after Rohit (Sharma) fell (20 off 15 balls). My job was clear - to control the middle overs, not take risks against spinners and take on pacers.

"I was happy with the template, it's how I play in ODIs," said Kohli at the post-match presentation after scoring his fourth hundred against Pakistan.

Kohli also got to a special milestone in the run chase as he became only the second Indian and third overall to amass 14000 ODI runs after compatriot Sachin Tendulkar (18,246 runs) and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (14,234 runs).

When asked about his approach in the innings, Kohli said: "I have a decent understanding of my game. It's about keeping the outside noise away, take care of my energy levels and thoughts.

"It's easy for me to get pulled into expectations and frenzy around games like these (India-Pakistan). I kept telling myself I'll give my 100 per cent while fielding. It's why I take pride in it. When you put your head down and go about your work, things work out."

He also credited Rohit, Shubman Gill (46) and Shreyas Iyer (56) for taking on the pacers on a tricky pitch.

"Clarity is important, when there is pace on the ball, you have to get scoring. Shubman and Shreyas have been excellent. Everyone's got a decent knock in these conditions, that'll augur well in the coming matches," he said.