Access to justice is an extremely important element of the criminal legal system. As a marginalized section of our society, persons with disabilities (PwDs) face discrimination in almost every facet of their life. Furthermore, they are re-victimized on account of the inadequacies in legal system which impedes their access to justice. The UNCRPD, mandates making provisions for PwDs, to reasonably accommodate them, the failure of which amounts to discrimination. As a signatory to the Convention, India, is bound to make such changes. This paper, therefore, looks at how the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 despite having multiple provisions for rights of persons with disabilities, is inadequate in upholding their rights and proposes amendments to the Code as a solution to the same. The body of the paper is divided in three parts and primarily looks at how persons with disabilities are discriminated as a complainant, witness and accused. The paper relies on research papers, legislations such as the Code of Criminal Procedure, Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, Indian Evidence Act along with the international convention on the rights of persons with disabilities, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006, as sources for information.

Keywords: Persons with Disabilities, Code of Criminal Procedure, Access to Justice, Reasonable Accommodation, UNCRPD.

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