On Wednesday, the Supreme Court sought the response from the Center and the states in a statement that held that three crore ration cards were canceled between 2013 and 2016, allegedly for not being linked to Aadhaar, leading to the denial of rations for those in need.
“It is a serious issue,” said a bank headed by India Chief Justice SA Bobde, adding that it should not be treated as an adversary.
The court was hearing a plea from Koili Devi of Jharkhand, who alleged that the cancellation of the ration cards had led to deaths from starvation.
Attorney Colin Gonsalves, appearing on Devi’s behalf, told the court, which also included Judges AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, that the petitioner’s daughter had died due to starvation, as they were denied benefits due to failure to link your ration card to Aadhaar.
“More than three million cards canceled at the Central level. In all states, 10-15 lakhs of cards are canceled. There are situations where fingerprints or the iris scanner don’t work in tribal areas, ”he said.
Representing the Center, Additional Attorney General Aman Lekhi said the guilty plea was based solely on newspaper reports and noted that there is redress of grievances under the Food Safety Act that had not been appealed prior to the moving of the court.
Calling the statement “ill-conceived,” he said that if Aadhaar is not available, alternative documents can be presented. “This point has not been discussed. We have clearly said Aadhaar or not Aadhaar, will not deny the right to food, “said Lekhi.
The court said: “We are asking (Center) to respond because of the Aadhaar problem. This is not adversarial litigation. ”The court issued a notice that can be returned in four weeks, adding that it will keep the matter for the final hearing.
The court also issued a notification to the states, “asking them to report on the steps they have taken to implement the grievance redress mechanism contained in Sections 14, 15 and 16 of the National Food Safety Act of 2013.”
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