Delhi High Court: In a writ petition seeking directions to Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE) to make its OTT platform, ZEE5, fully accessible to persons with disabilities in accordance with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Standard IS 17802:2022 (Part 1: Requirements and Part 2: Conformance) for accessibility of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products and services, a Single Judge Bench of Dr Swarana Kanta Sharma, J. directed expeditious steps to ensure that the platform complies with the prescribed accessibility standards. Pending adjudication of the writ petition, the Court requested ZEE to take immediate steps towards compliance with the BIS Standard and directed the authorities concerned to act expeditiously, with the objective of ensuring that ZEE5’s streaming services are accessible to and can be enjoyed by everyone, including persons with disabilities.
The petition prayed for an independent accessibility audit by a government-empaneled auditor, time-bound compliance with accessibility standards across the platform’s mobile applications, website, smart television applications, and desktop software, continued maintenance of accessibility, publication of an Accessibility Conformance Report, and mandatory accessibility training for developers, designers, and customer support personnel. Alternatively, the petitioner sought directions to the government authorities concerned to enforce statutory accessibility obligations under Sections 89 and 90, Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
Upon hearing the matter, the Court issued notice in the writ petition. Notice was accepted on behalf of Respondents 2 and 3 by the Senior Panel Counsel, who was granted 2 weeks to file a counter-affidavit, with the petitioner being permitted to file a rejoinder within 2 weeks thereafter. Although advance notice had been served upon ZEE, no appearance was entered on its behalf. Accordingly, the Court directed issuance of notice to ZEE through all permissible modes, including electronic service, returnable on 17 September 2026.
Pending further consideration, the Court requested ZEE to take immediate steps to ensure that the ZEE5 platform is made compliant with the applicable BIS Standard. The Court further directed the respondents to take expeditious steps to secure compliance with the prescribed accessibility standards.
[Rahul Bajaj v. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., W.P.(C) 8569/2026 & CM APPL. 40178/2026, decided on 2-7-2026]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For Petitioners: Amritesh Mishra, Sarah, Amar Jain, Advocates.
For Respondents: Neeraj Dubey, Sr. Panel Counsel
