The Delhi high court on Friday said that it would not let anyone sleep without food and ensure that everyone gets ration.
A bench of Acting Chief Justices said that no deserving and eligible person should be left out of the ambit of food security. The remarks were made after a report submitted by Zoheb Hossain, a court-appointed commissioner, highlighted the problems faced by slum dwellers in south Delhi, who were facing difficulties in getting subsidised foodgrains under the public distribution system (PDS) due to the lack of Aadhaar cards.
The court asked the petitioner NGO and the concerned authorities to suggest a mechanism which does not have human intervention to create problems. “You tell us how to regulate the functioning of fair price shops. You tell us what problems they are facing. We will ensure that nobody sleeps hungry in Delhi,” the bench said.
In his report, Hossain noted the instance of a nine-year-old autistic boy, Nitin, whose mother applied for a ration card with his birth certificate but was refused enlistment for not possessing Aadhaar.
“The application was made on March 3, 2014, when Aadhaar was not mandatory. Nitin and his younger brother, Ayush, have been included in the ration card pursuant to the court’s intervention,” the report said, adding that those excluded from the food subsidies have suffered hardships and may be compensated by the Food Department of the State of NCT of Delhi, if the court deems fit.
