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The Delhi High Court bench of Chief Justice Dhirubhai Naranbhai Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh on Monday issued a notice in a plea seeking shelter, food & education facilities to homeless & slum dwellers. 

“Human Rights are universal, inalienable, indivisible and interdependent. No individual or government has the right to take away or deny these rights either directly or indirectly through an act or omission. The Right to Food is one such basic Human Right. India is a home to the largest undernourished population of the world with around 14.9% of our population being undernourished and 195.9 million people going home hungry every day. Lakhs of people die or commit suicide in India each year because of hunger. Figures suggest that more than 3,00,000 children die every year in India because of hunger.”- Excerpt from the plea.

The plea preferred by Vineeta Mahamna and others through their Advocate Shrikant Prasad states that in this pandemic many of them are suffering from empty stomach, hunger and their health is deteriorating very rapidly and leading them at the verge of starvation death.

The petitioners averred that they themselves visited many places and took a ground survey from various places of the south east Delhi and found that at every red light signal and flyovers the families are living in a drastic conditions in a destitute & that the aggrieved people have no place to reside & are compelled to sleep on footpath. It has also been submitted that the children due to these circumstances have been compelled to sleep hungry and are deprived from basic education facilities too.

“The Right to have Food is a Fundamental Right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The Hon’ble Supreme Court, in Chameli Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh observed, in any organised society, right to live as a human being is not ensured by meeting only the animal needs of man… Right to live guarantee in any civilised society implies the right to food, water, decent environment education, medical care and shelter. These are basic human rights known to any civilised society.”- Excerpt from the plea.

The petitioner feeling anguished by the present state of affairs have sought the following reliefs:

1. Direct respondent no 1, 5, 6 and 7 for instant detailed survey of no of street dwellers, homeless, beggars across Delhi .and direct Respondent no 3 to form a permanent committee to overlook these people from time to time.

2.Direct respondent no 1,2,3,5,6 and 7 to make adequate arrangements by creating community kitchens and provide quality food three times a day in their hand and make proper mechanism for distribution of it through respondent no 8 Delhi state legal service authority and respondent no 4 Delhi police personnels .

3. Direct respondent no 3 to issue ration card, labour card and financial help of Rs 5000 p/m beneficiary scheme forthwith on 62 priority bases through respondent no 8 as the aggrieved are uneducated and marginalised people.

4. Direct respondents no 1,2,3,7 to make adequate facilities of shelters of street dwellers, homeless, and beggars through temporary/permanent shelter homes by increasing the number of night shelter for male and female both.

5 .Direct respondent to 1,2,3,7 make proper accommodation arrangement of people who comes for treatment in AIIMS hospital and resides on footpaths.

 6. Direct respondents no 1, 5 and 6 for arranging the instant education facilities for the children of roadside dwellers and homeless people.

7. Direct respondent no 3 for providing the skilled training to these destitute persons for any works according to their capabilities and help them in making self-dependant.

8. Direct respondent no 4 to take care of such type of destitute persons and make arrangement for helping them by providing the adequate relief of taking them to best suitable place and restrict respondent no 3 from annoying these destitute persons.

“The petitioner no 1 and 2 surveyed many places of South East Delhi in the night of 10th may 2021 where road side dwellers, beggars, homeless persons were residing on footpaths who do not 13 have anything for eating. There hunger stomach can only cured by chance if anyone give them food with their kind. They do not have any means to survive, their life is like hell it’s not called a life because they don’t have anything to wear, to reside or to eat. They are alone and dumped like garbage because neither government not society consider them as a human being they are the most vulnerable and downtrodden people of society where no heed paid by any one.”- stated the plea.

The matter is listed to be heard on 14^th June, 2021.

Case Title - Shrikant Prasad & ors v. National Human Right Commission & ors, 2021