I want to pursue higher education, play cricket, and ride bicycle like normal children. I don’t want to bother my mother and sister anymore: Ritik Kohli
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the response of the Centre and the Delhi government on a plea of a 15-year-old boy, born with a rare medical condition — congenital amputation, seeking monetary assistance for a prosthetic limb.
A bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and C Hari Shankar asked the Delhi government, the union ministries of Social Justice and Empowerment and that of Women and Child Development to file their reply within three weeks on the plea seeking Rs 13 lakh for a prosthetic limb to Ritik Kohli, a Class 10 student at a government-aided school.
On July 30, DNA had reported that Kohli, a resident of old Delhi's Sadar Bazar area, would knock on the court's door, seeking prosthetic limbs under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 and the Disability Act from the state government, in a bid to make his dream of becoming an artist, a reality.
The plea, filed by an NGO Social Jurist through senior lawyer Ashok Agarwal, said the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 mandates the governments to provide assistive devices to students with benchmark disabilities free of cost upto the age of 18 years. Also, under the RTE Act, students with special needs are entitled to government aid for their medical and educational needs.
The petition filed on behalf of Kohli said that he was born with Bilateral Elbow disarticulation (Congenital Deficiency)and both his hands and claimed that his parents cannot afford to pay Rs 13 lakh for the prosthetic limb. "It is submitted that section 17(g) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 clearly provides that the appropriate government and the local authorities shall take measure for providing appropriate assistive devices to the students with bench mark disabilities free of cost," it said.
"The state is bound to protect the said right and to provide all the means and materials to achieve the said right.The prosthetic limb and machine required to be attached to Master Ritik are essential for his education and same is an assistive device which will help him in furthering his education," the plea added.
Over the years, Kohli has learned creating beautiful portraits with his feet. "I want to pursue higher education, play cricket, and ride bicycle like normal children. I don't want to bother my mother and sister anymore," he had said.
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