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REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL NO.7719/2021

ASHUTOSH KUMAR Appellant(s)

VERSUS

THE FILM AND TELEVISION

INSTITUTE OF INDIA & ANR. Respondent(s)

J U D G M E N T

SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.

1. The art is non-conformist in character!

We are reminded of Edgar Degas’ poignant

observation that “Art is not what you see, but what you

make others see.”

2. The respondent Institute is a premier Institute

and one would expect it to encourage a liberal thought

process and not put courses connected with films in any

conformists’ box. It is this thought process which

made us pass the order on 30.11.2021 dealing with the

aspect of colour blindness. We had sketched out that

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the colour blindness is not a form of blindness at all

but a deficiency in the way you see colour. This

medical condition makes it difficult to distinguish

certain colours such as blue and yellow or red and

green, and an estimated eight percent of the male

population and less than one per cent of the female

population have red and green colour deficiency, being

the most common form of colour blindness.

3. The lis which has arisen before us is from a

fundamental question where a person who is colour blind

is excluded from pursuing a course for Diploma in

Editing in the Films and Television Institute of India,

Pune(FTII)/respondent No.1. It is not necessary for us

to get into the depth of the facts which already stand

noticed in the aforementioned order or the respective

submissions of the counsels made on that date. Suffice

to say that instead of taking a call itself on whether

colour blindness would be an aspect which would be an

impediment in going through the course, we found it

appropriate to form a committee to look into the issue

and connected issues. On suggestions from counsels for

parties and our own path of discovery, we constituted a

Committee of the following:-

“(i) Film Director Mr. Ravi K Chandran

(ii) Colourist- Mr. Swapnil Patole

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(iii) Script Ms. Shubha Ramachandra

Supervisor

(iv) Film Editor Mr. Akkineni Sreekar Prasad

(v) Course Creator/ Mr. Rajasekharan

HOD, Editing

(vi) Ophthalmologist Dr. Jignesh Taswala

(vii) Mr. Shoeb Alam, Advocate who was the

counsel in the Committee appointed in Praney

Kumar Poddar vs. State of Tripura & Ors. (2017)

13 SCC 351.”

4. We put a caveat at the inception itself that in

view of the passage of time of almost six years, the

respondent would have to go through the rigors of the

process of a selection anew, but dependent on the fate

of the order to be passed on consideration of the

report of the Committee, it had the potentiality to

remove the impediment in the future on account of

colour blindness, if the Committee so opined.

5. We also considered appropriate to facilitate a

more comprehensive exercise by the Committee to opine

on the aspect of colour blindness qua all the courses

for which it is perceived as a disqualification.

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6. The report of the Committee has been placed

before us. It is signed by all THE members except one

i.e. Mr. K. Rajasekaran, HOD Editing, FTII who had some

caveats which we will consider after noticing the

report of the Committee.

7. The Committee rightly framed the two issues on

which the opinion of the Committee was sought as under:

“i. Whether the course curriculum provided for

diploma in Editing can be successfully

completed by the appellant who suffers from

color blindness?

ii. To facilitate a more comprehensive

exercise, the role of the committee would be

to opine on the aspect of color blindness qua

all the courses for which it is perceived as a

disqualification.”

KEY HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE COMMITTEE’S DISCUSSIONS

8. The Committee held about eight online meetings.

With a view to inform itself of the practice of

admission of colour blind individuals prevalent in

premier international institutes, it short listed and

wrote to ten top international film and television

institutes, it but responses were received only from

two of them. In the course of deliberations of the

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Committee, it was found that the appellant had not been

examined by the an expert Ophthalmologist to ascertain

the nature and extent of his colour blindness as at the

time of seeking admission in the FTII. The eye

examination was by the Institute’s General Medical

Officer. It is in view thereof that an application was

filed before this Court on which orders were passed on

18.02.2022 for the Director, AIIMS to constitute a

Committee at the earliest to examine the appellant to

ascertain the nature and extent of colour visual

deficiency.

9. The report of the AIIMS prepared on 08.03.2022

records that the appellant had “red and green colour

vision deficiency as per the grading level of colour

perception, the candidate is found to have colour

perception (CP)4”.

10. The Committee has thereafter deliberated on all

the aspects and has submitted its report. It carries

various sections.

11. The first section of the report deals with

Ophthalmological perspective prescription of colour

blindness. It discusses: (a) about colour blindness (b)

the causes of colour blindness (c) types of colour

blindness.

12. Suffice to reproduce the (c) part of the report

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as under:

“c. Types of color blindness

(i) Red-green color blindness:

The most common type of color blindness makes it

hard to tell the difference between red and green.

There are 4 types of red-green color blindness:

DEUTERANOMALY is the most common type of

red-green color blindness. It makes green

look more red. This type is mild and

doesn’t usually get in the way of normal

activities.

PROTANOMALY makes red look more green and

less bright. This type is mild and usually

doesn’t get in the way of normal

activities.

PROTANOPIA and DEUTERANOPIA both make you

unable to tell the difference between red

and green at all.

(ii) Blue-yellow color blindness:

This less-common type of color blindness

makes it hard to tell the difference

between blue and green, and between yellow

and red. There are 2 types of blue-yellow

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color blindness:

 TRITANOMALY makes it hard to tell the

difference between blue and green, and

between yellow and red.

 TRITANOPIA makes you unable to tell

the difference between blue and green,

purple and red, and yellow and pink. It

also makes colors look less bright.

(iii) Complete color blindness:

If you have complete color blindness,

you can’t see colors at all. This is

also called monochromacy, and it’s

quite uncommon. Depending on the type,

you may also have trouble seeing

clearly and you may be more sensitive

to light. Different types of color

blindness cause problems seeing

different colors.”

BAR TO FTII COURSES:

13. The Committee thereafter examined the bar to

FTII courses on account of colour blindness, keeping in

mind the various modules of the curriculum which may be

a hurdle for admitting colour blind candidates, the

significance and professional utility of such modules,

colour blindness and the occupational role of the

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professional etc. in order to determine whether a

colour blind candidate, who otherwise possessed

creative potential, ought to be refused admission to a

particular TV/Film making course.

14. As per the 2020 FTII prospectus, individuals

with colour blindness are ineligible to be admitted to

the following course:

“(i) Cinematography, (ii) Electronic

Cinematography, (iii) Editing, (iv) Video

Editing, (v) Art Direction and Production

Design.”

15. It is the view of the committee that individuals

with colour blindness should be permitted to enroll for

all courses offered by the FTII. The reasoning which

permeates this finding of the Committee is as under:

(a) Film and television creations are

collaborative art forms. Restricting entry of

colour blind candidates to film courses may

sacrifice creative talent and stultify the

development of the art. Inclusivity enriches

this creative art form by introducing variety,

any limitation can be overcome by assistance in

the educational and professional life.

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(b) It is not the role of FTII to decide for

candidates their future prospects as a

film/television professional. If learning

limitation of the candidate can be overcome by

making reasonable accommodation or with the

help of an assistant, the candidate should be

eligible for admission to courses offered by

FTII.

(C) Film editing is the art, technique and

practice of assembling shots into a coherent

sequence and the job of an Editor is not simply

to mechanically put piece of a film together,

cut off film slates or edit dialogue scenes.

The Film Editor must creatively work with the

layers of images, story, dialogue, music,

pacing as well as the actors performances to

effectively “reimagine” and even re-write the

film to craft a cohesive whole.

FILM EDITING CURRICULUM AND COLOR GRADING:

16. The Committee thereafter examined the film

editing curriculum and colour grading aspect which is a

20 minute module of colour grading in the fifth

semester. It is opined that there is no relevance of

the colour grading to the role of a professional Film

Editor. A Colourist who is a specialized professional

makes up for the colour enhancement, corrections etc.

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17. The Committee has analyzed the historical

perspective of the role which is as late as the year

2000 in the pre-digital film era. Film editing was

carried out on black and white rushes and colour was

added to the rushes subsequently. T he Editor thus, had

to only deal with the black and white rushes and had no

requirement for colour vision. Thus the presence of

colour blindness in a person did not prevent him from

becoming an expert Film Editor.

18. Illustratively, Mr. Ravi K. Chandran,

Cinematographer informed that Sir Roger Deakins CBE, is

one of the acclaimed international Cinematographers and

won an Oscar Award apart from being nominated 13 times

for Oscar Awards for his Cinematographic works and has

difficulty in operating new age digital equipments, for

which he relies upon assistants. In fact Mr. Chandran

opined that he himself relies on the help of assistants

and professionals while handling complex new age

digital equipments or to overcome any other limitation

where he may need help with.

19. A significant aspect noticed was that the 2020

FTII prospectus did not contain refer to any particular

kind or extent of colour blindness which may operate as

a bar to admission but mentioned that candidates

suffering from colour blindness/colour vision

deficiency are ineligible to apply for specialization

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at serial Nos. 1,2,5, 6 and 7.

EXISTING COLOR EDITING CURRICULUM

20. The next aspect analyzed is the existing colour

editing curriculum. On analysis of the FTII film

editing curriculum, it was found that candidates with

the following types of colour blindness i.e.

Achromatopsia, Tritanopia, Deuteranopia and Protanopia

may have difficulties in successfully completing the

existing 20 minutes obstructive colour element grading

module in the Diploma in Film Editing curriculum

offered by the FTII, and individuals with other types

of colour blindness will not have any problem in

completing the existing curriculum. What is relevant

to note is that the Committee has opined that “colour

grading module“ has no relevance or nexus with the role

of a Film Editor.

BEST PRACTICES IN FOREIGN FILM INSTITUTES:

21. The Committee, in order to better appraise

itself, wrote to different premier international film

Institutes to know their best practices. On the basis

of the responses, albeit limited, it was found that

there was no discrimination based on physical

limitation etc. and if a fellow needed accommodation

they would make a request to Students’ Affairs Office

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with a doctor’s note and no medical examination was

required.

22. In fact the response from CalArts further stated

that “all reasonable accommodation would be provided to

enable a colour blind student to complete their

course.” The Committee opined that FTII, being an

internationally acclaimed premier film Institute,

should set an example by making reasonable

accommodation for colour blind candidates. The art of

film making is a collaborative art form and any

limitations would be compensated by the team of

professionals. Thus, the all inclusive approach

followed by premier foreign Institutes supports a view

that FTII too should open its doors to colour blind

individuals.

BLACK AND WHITE FILMS:

23. The Committee thereafter has deliberated on

black and white films which are an integral genre of

the film industry where the colour blind individual

will have no impediment in creating a black and white

film. That itself has been opined as a good reason to

not prevent colour blind individuals to the film

schools. Illustrations have been given of black and

white films which have received critical acclaim

including Schindler’s List.

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PHYSICAL/SENSORY LIMITATION & THE ARTS:

24. An interesting aspect of discussion is under the

heading of physical & sensory limitation in arts which

sets forth individuals with great eminence who have

seen no bounds on account of colour blindness. We would

like to extract the same as under:

“o. PHYSICAL/SENSORY LIMITATIONS & THE ARTS:

There are myriad instances of film

professionals, artists, actors etc. who have

excelled at their job despite their personal

limitations. The following instances amplify

the argument:

i. Madhu Ambat, a top Indian Cinematographer

(also an FTII alumnus), has won the National

Award for Best Cinematography thrice. He has

shot over a 100 feature films in various

languages. He suffered a paralytic attack at

the age of 10, affecting his operating arm, but

he has overcome his limitations to succeed in

this physically demanding craft.

ii. Loren Long is a renowned illustrator who

has worked on countless children’s books,

including Barack Obama ‘Of Thee I Sing’,

despite his colorblindness. At art school, he

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learned color theory and ways to work around

his disability. He says he has a heightened

sense of values or saturation that helps him

and works with the help of colleagues & family.

iii. An amputee, Sudha Chandran become an

acclaimed Bharatnatyam dancer. With a Jaipur

foot, Sudha went on to perform worldwide & has

acted in countless movies and television shows.

iv. Pranav Lal, a blind photographer, captures

images using sound.

v. Dame Evelyn Glennie a Grammy award winning,

Scottish percussionist began to lose her

hearing at the age of 8 and by age 12 was

completely deaf. Together with her band

teacher, she developed ways to feel the musical

vibration through her hands, feet and face.

She literally taught herself to truly ‘listen’

with the rest of her body.

vi. Helen Keller, an unforgettable lore. She

graduated summa cum laude from Radcliffe in

Harvard & published 12 books in a language she

neither heard nor read. She was both deaf &

blind.

vii. Rowan Atkinson with severe speech

disabilities became a great actor,

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immortalizing Mr. Bean for generations to come.

viii. Ian Treherne is profoundly deaf & 95 %

blind and a photographer. He shot portraits of

the Tokyo 2020 Para-Olympic athletes. He also

paints, makes films and plays music.”

25. The two other aspects discussed including the

use of prosthetic glasses are also being reproduced

hereunder:

“p. CODA: The 94

th

Academy Awards (2022)/Oscar

Award, for Best Picture, Best Adapted

Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor has been

conferred on the film ‘CODA’ (Children of Deaf

Adults). The film casts several deaf actors

including Marlee Matlin, an Oscar and BAFTA

(British Academy of Film and Television Arts)

awardee herself.

q. PROSTHETIC GLASSES: The use of prosthetic

color vision correction glasses such as those

marketed under the brand name EnChroma etc.,

which may reduce the impact of color blindness,

should be encouraged and allowed to be used by

colorblind candidates applying to the FTII in

order to limit the impact of the condition.”

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CONCLUSIONS/ RECOMMENDATIONS:

26. The conclusion and recommendations of the

Committee under para IV are as under:-

“IV. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS

After examination of all relevant issues and

deliberations, the committee makes the

following conclusions/recommendations in

response to the references forwarded to it:

a. In re. Court’s reference# 1 : “Whether the

course curriculum provided for diploma in

Editing can be successfully completed by the

appellant who suffers from color blindness?”

Committee’s recommendations : The appellant Mr.

Ashutosh Kumar who has Red and Green color

vision deficiency and has color perception of

CP4, as per the AIIMS Medical Board report,

will have difficulty in completing the existing

course curriculum of the diploma in Film and

Editing course offered by the FTII. This is

more particularly due to a twenty-minute ‘color

grading module’ which is part of the Film

Editing curriculum. However, the color grading

module has no relevance to either the film

editing course or to the film editor’s

professional role (Mr. K. Rajasekaran, HoD

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Editing, FTII, does not agree that the color

grading module is irrelevant to the film

editing course).

b. In re. Court’s Reference#2 : “To facilitate a

more comprehensive exercise, the role of the

committee would be to opine on the aspect of

color blindness qua all the courses for which

it is perceived as a disqualification.”

Committee’s recommendation : It is the opinion

of the committee that :

i. It is recommended that individuals with

color blindness should be permitted to

enroll for ALL courses offered by FTII.

There should be no bar to admissions to the

FTII for colorblind individuals. Any

limitation can be overcome by an assistant

in educational and professional life.

ii. FTII should make reasonable

accommodation in their curriculum for

candidates with color blindness, in all

courses where there is a bar to the

admission of colorblind individuals. For

example, by providing elective/optional

modules in the curriculum for those core

credits which may require intensive color

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appreciation or in any other way.

iii. The color grading module in the

existing Diploma in Film Editing Course

curriculum, should either be excluded or

made elective, thereby lifting the bar of

admissions for individuals with color

blindness.”

27. The aforesaid conclusions clearly show that all

individuals with colour blindness should be permitted

to enroll for all courses offered by FTII and any

limitation can be overcome. The FTII should make

accommodation in their curriculum for candidates with

colour blindness and the 20 minutes obstructive element

of colour grading module in the existing Diploma in

Film Editing course curriculum should be excluded or

made elective.

28. We must at the threshold appreciate the effort

put in by the Committee in looking to all aspects and

opining collectively except with one caveat. That

caveat is from Mr. K. Rajasekaran, as noticed. Let us

now turn to the caveat.

29. Mr. Rajasekaran somehow does not agree that the

colour grading module is irrelevant to the film editing

course as the role of FTII is to give all inclusive

education. He has opined that the syllabus has been

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designed by experts and was further approved by the

academic council and governing council and that opining

in favour of the irrelevancy of colour grading module

would be “ crossing the line and will also be

challenging the knowledge of experts who have very

thoughtfully designed this syllabus.” The syllabus was

designed in 2015. Seven years have passed. The

hesitancy of Mr. Rajasekaran makes it appear he would

not like to ruffle feathers in the Institute.

30. He has sought to emphasis qua other courses also

that the colour blind students of Cinematography, art

production and design will find it very difficult to

carry out studies under these courses again based on

syllabus being “carefully and thoughtfully designed by

experts.”

31. Interestingly his final view is “wherever

possible, FTII has already accommodated colour blinds

in as many as 05 courses out of a total of 11”!

32. Thus, what he opines is a status quo. The FTII

knows best, its experts know best. Don’t touch us!

Despite the opinion of the expert panel set up by this

Court and unanimous in its decision except one dissent.

33. With due respect, we do not find this course

acceptable.

34. The theme which permeates the report of the

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Committee is based on an appreciation of art and

culture, of innovation, intuitiveness, unrestricted by

impediments which can be overcome with assistance.

35. We find ourselves wholeheartedly in agreement

with the majority view of the Committee and thus, opine

that the same is required to be adopted by the FTII in

its curriculum. We do not believe that it impinges on

the freedom of the FTII, as sought to be canvassed by

the learned counsel for the respondent, but gives the

FTII an even broader canvass in its pioneering efforts

in the field. As the great photographer Ansel Adams

once said, “You don’t make a photograph just with a

camera. You bring to the act of photography all the

pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the

music you have heard, the people you have loved.” We

also opine that if there are other institutes carrying

on a similar educational curriculum, they would also be

required to adhere to the discussion on this subject as

forms the conclusion of the Committee.

36. We may only notice that possibly a mountain out

of a molehill is being made as the particular module is

a 20 minute module in the whole course curriculum and

even the Committee has opined that it can be made

elective.

37. The passage of time and our earlier order

unfortunately does not permit us to grant relief to the

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appellant though he has been a flag bearer to see that

changes take place for others as also for him for the

future.

38. It does appear to be a case of “ no jam today“

but then sometimes there is a pioneering role played by

individuals who may not immediately get the direct

benefit.

39. We can only hope that this report as adopted by

us and the judgment would go further in a broader

conspectus of appreciation of the art forms. We would

do well to remember Aristotle, when he said that “ the

aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance

of things, but their inward significance.” Although

made in the context of art and the freedom of

expression, it would also be apposite to reproduce

observations made by one of us (Hon’ble Sanjay Kishan

Kaul, J.) in Maqbool Fida Hussain v. Rajkumar Pandey &

Ors. (2008 SCC OnLIne Del 562):

“114. Human personality can bloom fully and

humanism can take deep roots and have its

efflorescence only in a climate where all

display an attitude of tolerance and a spirit

of moderation.”

40. We would have closed the proceedings with the

aforesaid order but learned counsel for the appellant

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makes a valiant endeavour to persuade us to revisit our

observations made in the order dated 30.11.2021 wherein

we had opined that the appellant would have to go

through the process de novo. The submission of the

learned counsel is based on the principle of

“reasonable accommodation ” as enunciated in Vikash

Kumar v. Union Public Service Commission & Ors.

1

and

Pranay Kumar Poddar v. State of Tripura & Ors.

2

and he

contends that the Court innovatively granted admission

to the candidate exercising jurisdiction under Article

142 of the Constitution of India.

41. He submits that the appellant had gone through

the curriculum for about six months and he was found

medically fit till this impediment came in his way.

What he suggests is that the candidate should be

accommodated in the next academic year by increasing

the strength of the course by one person.

42. However, before we consider to embark on such a

course, we must have the views of the Institute which

will file a response in this behalf and endeavour to

find a solution. The response be filed within two weeks

as prayed for.

43. Rejoinder if any, be filed within a week

thereafter on this aspect.

1 (2021) 5 SCC 370

2 (2017) 13 SCC 351

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List for further proceedings on 10.05.2022.

…………………………………………….J.

[SANJAY KISHAN KAUL]

…………………………………………….J.

[M.M. SUNDRESH]

NEW DELHI;

APRIL 12, 2022.