In April, a Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath had observed in an order that the “rights of prisoners with disabilities must be recognised and effectuated in a manner that accords with a humane, rights-based approach”. File. | Photo Credit: PTI A Kerala-based activist, whose petition highlighting the traumatic prison days of the late Professor G. Saibaba and Stan Swamy led the Supreme Court to form a high-powered committee to free Indian jails from the colonial yoke, suggested bringing in a mechanism to allow disabled prisoners/detainees to self-identify and declare their disabilities. States have an obligation under Section 7 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act to protect persons with disabilities (PwD) from violence, abuse or exploitation, the detailed written submissions, prepared by advocates Kaleeswaram Raj and Thulasi K. Raj on behalf of activist-petitioner Sathyan Naravoor, said. The submissions were filed before the apex court-appointed high-powered committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice S. Ravindra Bhat. The document argued that PwD were particularly vulnerable to exploitation at the hands of …