The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Centre on a plea which sought the quashing of certain provisions of the new Haj policy that barred differently-abled persons from undertaking the annual Haj pilgrimage. The plea also contended that the new provisions "blatantly discriminate" against persons with disability thereby violating the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. It also said that the provisions were "arbitrary, discriminatory and highly irrational and inconsistent with the Disabilities Act, 2016." The Centre had cleared the Disability Bill in December 2016 where the number of disabilities were raised from the seven to 21. The newly-added types of disabilities include mental illness, autism, spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, neurological conditions, and so on.

Source: dna January 03, 2018 22:07 UTC