Delhi High Court on OTT accessibility guidelines
The Delhi High Court has directed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) to finalise and notify, within three months, a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms are accessible to persons with disabilities.
The upcoming guidelines are expected to require streaming services to include accessibility features such as subtitles, closed captions, audio descriptions, and Indian Sign Language (ISL) interpretation. These measures are aimed at making online content accessible to viewers who are visually or hearing impaired, ensuring they can enjoy entertainment and cultural content on an equal footing with others.
The Court’s direction came while hearing petitions filed by disability rights advocates, who argued that OTT platforms must comply with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The Act guarantees equal access to information and communication technologies, which includes digital and streaming media. The petitioners contended that the current lack of accessibility features effectively excludes millions of Indians with disabilities from participating in the country’s expanding digital entertainment ecosystem.
In its order, the bench took note of the Ministry’s earlier draft accessibility guidelines, released in October 2025, which had been circulated for public feedback. Those drafts proposed a phased rollout, requiring all newly released content to include at least one accessibility feature within six months of the final notification, and setting targets for older content over a two-year period.
The Court granted the Ministry three months to finalise and implement the rules, stressing that any further delay would not be acceptable. The decision marks a significant step toward making India’s digital entertainment space more inclusive and aligns with the broader goals of digital equality and accessibility under the 2016 Act.
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