Unsung Heroes: Meet Shreyas Reddy, a visually impaired lawyer behind reintroduction of audio announcement system in public transport

While he is striving to bring light among those who are visually impaired and are deprived of inclusive public spaces through active advocacy and activism, Reddy’s story has also been dark, challenging, and uncertain.

Reddy lost his vision when he was in Class 7. He was rejected by 73 different schools in Bengaluru for admission before he joined Turnbridge High School. And, he said, for quite obvious reasons, he was harassed and mocked during school. Such repeated episodes during his school life are what triggered him to pursue law.

Later, he joined an international school in Bengaluru for classes 11 and 12 and then went on to pursue arts at St Joseph’s College following which he studied law at BMS College of Law.

“I was an academically outstanding student. However, I felt cocooned when it came to social life. I was somebody who felt scared while talking to girls during my college days. I was hesitant to use the blind stick in college. When I wanted to pursue law later, I was again rejected by some notable law colleges in Bengaluru. However, when I landed a seat at BMS for law which in a way was a relief, another set of challenges were waiting for me,” said the 28-year-old.

“Not just education institutions, even law firms where I had applied for internships did not select me. However, I happened to meet a designated senior counsel in the second year of law school. She guided me through and helped me get an internship at the Karnataka High Court under the sitting judge of the court. That experience meant a lot to me, following which I interned under other esteemed judges including some in the Supreme Court,” said Reddy, who has worked on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case.

Following his successful internship stints, Reddy turned his vision to address larger problems affecting the visually impaired and initiate tangible reforms for the community. This resulted in the formation of Samatva Centre For Social Cause, a non-profit organisation that provides pro bono legal services to the economically disadvantaged and persons with disability.

Started by Reddy along with his sister, who is also a law student, the organisation is based on three basic principles — awareness, advocacy, and activism. Reddy explains that the organisation fosters sustainable development goals along the lines of peace, justice, and strong institutions. The organisation also provides students, especially the visually impaired, with internships, placements, and experiential legal education.

“We are currently organising and conducting awareness workshops on accessibility, disability, consumer awareness, legal and legal-allied academia. We engage in virtual awareness activities on user accessibility and inclusivity. Our goal is to teach and illustrate selected tasks and assist them,” said Reddy.

Filing a petition for reintroducing audio systems in public transport involved volunteers from the organisation working together to collect a survey on the number of visually impaired using public transport, shoot videos, and document the challenges of the community among others.

The organisation also conducts fun activities with school children and youngsters by giving them a real glimpse of what it means to lead a life with a lack of inclusivity. As part of the activity, students are blindfolded and educated about the various challenges of the visually impaired. The organisation also encourages pre-professional exposure to legal practice for law students in the form of internships, apprenticeships, court visits, and offline workshops.

“Reintroducing audio announcements in public transport is one just problem we addressed as a team. There are a lot of problems in the pipeline for which I am working to ensure that the visually impaired community benefits through the legal course of action,” said Reddy.