Environment and Consumer Protection Foundation vs Union of India

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 659 of 2007

Environment and Consumer Protection Foundation ….Petitioner

versus

Union of India & Ors. …Respondents WITH

WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 168 of 2012

AND

WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 133 of 2012

JUDGMENT

Madan B. Lokur, J.

Signature Not Verified

1. These petitions were filed and taken up in public interest are intended Digitally signed by SANJAY KUMAR Date: 2017.08.11 12:24:22 IST Reason: to bring back some sunshine in the lives of the widows in Vrindavan and in

ashrams elsewhere in the country. It is a pity that these widows have been so

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 1 of 20 unfortunately dealt with, as if they have ceased to be entitled to live a life of

dignity and as if they are not entitled to the protection of Article 21 of the

Constitution.

2. The petitioner, Environment and Consumer Protection Foundation is

a registered charitable society and a non-political body. It filed a petition

under Article 32 of the Constitution essentially for an appropriate writ

requiring the Union of India and the State of Uttar Pradesh to take all steps

to rehabilitate the widows of Vrindavan so as to bring them to a stage where

they can live with dignity.

3. The petition was filed on the basis of an article ‘White Shadows of

Vrindavan’ written by Atul Sethi and published in the New Delhi edition of

the Times of India of 25th March, 2007. The apparent intention of the article

was to report and bring to the notice of the public and the government

agencies the pathetic and shocking conditions of the widows living in

Vrindavan - begging in temples and then huddling together in hovels.

Broadly speaking, the article described the city of Vrindavan in which

abandoned widows live a hand to mouth existence like white shadows thus

giving the city another name that is the City of Widows. According to the

author no one knows since when these widows have been coming to

Vrindavan but most of them are from West Bengal and their life stories often

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 2 of 20 follow a similar pattern which is the death of the husband, relatives leaving

them in Vrindavan, days spent singing prayers and begging at temples where

they live on a day to day basis. Most widows refuse to go back to their

village or home, even if they are given a chance to do so, saying that now

this is our home.

4. According to the author, the widows congregate in some ashrams or

temples where they sing bhajans and are paid about Rs. 18 per day for about

7 to 8 hours of singing. The rest of their time is spent begging on the streets.

Many of them are too old to look after themselves requiring others to pool in

their resources to look after them. Overall, the article paints a rather tragic

and dismal picture of the living conditions of the widows in Vrindavan.

5. On reading the article, the petitioner addressed a letter to the District

Magistrate in Mathura and brought to his notice its contents and sought

further information on what was stated therein. A reply was sent to the

petitioner to the effect that necessary steps were being taken to improve the

living condition of the widows. There was some correspondence in this

regard for a couple of months but to no real effect. It is this sequence of

events that persuaded the petitioner to file a petition in this Court with the

prayer as aforesaid.

6. This Court took up the petition in public interest and passed certain

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 3 of 20 significant directions. For example, on 14th November, 2008 the National

Commission for Women was directed to prepare a comprehensive report on

the problems faced by the widows. It was also directed that the report should

contain the age groups of the widows, their family background and all other

information relevant for the purposes of this case.

7. On 1st April, 2011 the Ministry of Women and Child Development in

the Government of India was impleaded as one of the respondents and on 9 th

May, 2012 this Court directed that in order to mitigate the miseries of the

widows, a Special Committee should be constituted to undertake an exercise

of identification and enumeration of the destitute in Vrindavan - both those

having shelter and those wandering in the streets without any shelter. The

Committee was required to collect complete data of the widows including

the reason for their shifting to Vrindavan and particulars about their family

and their present source of income.

8. Several other orders were passed from time to time more particularly

from 2015 onwards when the Social Justice Bench was constituted by the

Hon’ble Chief Justice of India. As a result, a very large number of reports

were generated and concerned authorities like the National Commission for

Women, the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the State of

Uttar Pradesh began taking considerable interest in the problems faced by

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 4 of 20 the widows of Vrindavan. The reports generated from time to time are as

follows:

1. Summary Report (undated) of the Situation Analysis of Widows in Religious Places of West Bengal prepared by Jayaprakash Institute of Social Change DD – 18/4/1, Salt Lake City, Kolkata – 700 064. This is filed in W.P. No.133 of 2012.

2. Status Report (undated) filed by National Legal Services Authority, Delhi Legal Services Authority and by National Commission for Women.

3. Study by the National Commission for Women in 2009-10 on widows in Vrindavan.

4. Minutes of the Meeting held on 10th May, 2011 by the Secretary Ministry of Women and Child Development.

5. Report filed by National Legal Services Authority dated 14 th July, 2012. This is filed in W.P. No. 133 of 2012 on 26th July, 2012.

6. A Report dated 10th September, 2012 on Measures taken for compliance of Hon’ble Supreme Court Order dated 03-08-2012 And Few Ground Realities With Some Reforms Immediately Required by Secretary District Legal Service Authority, Addl. Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mathura. This is filed in W.P. No.133 of 2012.

7. Plight of Foresaken/Forlorn Women – Old and Widows Living in Vrindavan & Radhakund, Mathura (U.P.) – A Survey Report dated 10th November, 2012 by District Legal Services Authority, Mathura. This is filed in W.P. No.133 of 2012.

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 5 of 20 8. Report of the Member Secretary, National Legal Services Authority dated 14th January, 2014 filed in W.P. No. 133 of 2012 on 12th September, 2014.

9. Report of the Secretary, District Legal Services Authority at Mathura dated 31st March, 2014.

10. Status Report filed by Ms. Renuka Kumar on 16th April, 2015.

11. Minutes of the Meeting held by the Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development on 2nd September, 2015.

12. Status Report filed on 11th March, 2016 on behalf of State of Uttar Pradesh.

13. Report by Ms. Renuka Kumar dated 19 th April, 2016 on 17 homes administered by the U.P. Mahila Kalyan Nigam.

14. StatusReport dated 28th April, 2016 by the National Commission for Women of 28.04.2016 giving some preliminary recommendations.

15. Status report along with budget requirement submitted by Ms. Renuka Kumar on 31st August, 2016.

16. Status Report on widows in Swadhar Homes in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Odisha by the National Commission for Women in November, 2016.

17. Report on the medical facilities for widows and destitute women in Vrindavan submitted by Ms. Renuka Kumar on 8th November, 2016.

18. Affidavit in compliance filed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development on 2nd June, 2017 concerning order dated 21st April, 2017.

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 6 of 20 9. With the plethora of reports and material available and with the

generous assistance given and deep involvement of all learned counsel, we

found it more appropriate to request them to give us agreed directions that

could be issued to mitigate the discomfort of the widows of Vrindavan.

Accordingly, the following order was passed on 29th March, 2017:

“Ms. Aparna Bhat, learned counsel appearing for the National Commission for Women and Mr. A.K. Panda, learned senior counsel appearing for the Ministry of Women and Child Development assisted by Ms. Pushpa Bisht, Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Development say that it will be appropriate if agreed directions are formulated and issued so that immediate steps are taken to improve the conditions of widows in different parts of the country.

Learned counsel for the parties say that either they or their representatives will sit together and come out with a list of agreed directions which may be passed by this Court on 6th April, 2017.”

10. Unfortunately, perhaps due to some misunderstanding or a lack of

effective communication, agreed directions could not be finalized till 18th

July, 2017. On that date the learned Solicitor General handed over an Agreed

Action Plan. The Agreed Action Plan with our comment on some issues is

given in the table below:

AGREED ACTION PLAN

Directions proposed Action Plan of the Ministry Our Comment by the National of Women and Child Commission for Development Women

1. Create an interactive The Ministry of Women and The Aadhaar enabled data-base which Child Development will software will, of

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 7 of 20 would provide access develop appropriate Aadhaar course, be subject to for homes to input enabled software for capturing the pending litigation information as soon as data concerning inmates of in this Court.

a widow enters their Swadhar Greh within next six system. The database months and, if necessary, an must have a profile of external agency will be the widow to be able engaged for it. Access, to the to understand her extent required, will be needs [and needs to be provided to different updated] as soon as a stakeholders and the agency widow enters the entrusted with the development system. The portal of the software will be asked to can be created by the build in adequate safeguards to government with protect the confidentiality of access given to the information.

registered homes to provide their inputs.

The Government of India has initiated such a programme for the purposes of adoption. 2. Widows with families Family counseling centres The follow-up post must be identified andworking under Central Social counselling should be their families must beWelfare Board (CSWB) and made clear and counseled for taking State Social Welfare Boards particularly in cases care of them and in (SSWB) across the country where the family cases where required will be entrusted with the does not take care of legal action, asresponsibility of identifying the widow even after warranted, may be widows who have families. being counselled. taken. The progress of the work done will be compiled by the CSWB every month and a report sent to the Ministry every quarter. The CSWB will, in consultation with other stakeholders, be asked to develop a suitable module for counseling families within a period of six months and, thereafter, review and update it as and when required. 3. NALSA must create a NALSA/DALSA will be

mechanism to enable advised to provide legal aid to homes to access legal the inmates of Swadhar Greh aid. within 15 days of the

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 8 of 20 acceptance of the plan of action by the Hon’ble Supreme Court.

4. Public sector The Ministry of Women and The concerned organizations must be Child Development has already Ministry should be encouraged to taken up the matter with the advised that the fund contribute certain Department of Public is intended to assist percentage of their Enterprises and Ministry of and benefit destitute CSR funds for a Corporate Affairs. The matter widows.

Widows Management shall be further pursued with Fund which would be them. used for developing vocational trainings for widows. 5. The government must In all States and Union The benefit of the actively explore Territories, medicines are supply of free medical insurances for provided free of cost to the medicines should be all widows and at least patients through the Common made available to widows that are Health Centres and Primary destitute women as housed in the Swadhar Health Centres under the well. Availability of Homes so that good National Health Mission of the free medical medical facilities can Ministry of Health & Family treatment needs be accessed by the Welfare. It may, therefore, not consideration. widows. be necessary to introduce medical insurance as such a measure could take away a portion of the income of widows and impoverish them further. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has been requested to advise all State Governments and Union Territory administrations to ensure that access to free medicines is ensured to all those staying in Swadhar Homes. 6. Homes must be linked The Ministry of Skill to existing Development and Government Entrepreneurship has been Programmes. Homes requested to prepare a plan of must be encouraged to action for development of open more avenues for skills of widows; and orphan, employing the widows destitute and marginalized in the care and women through sectoral skill hospitality sector than development councils. They sticking to tailoring have also been requested to

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 9 of 20 etc. which do not monitor the progress in this provide economically regard at regular intervals. The viable employment to Ministry of Women & Child the widows and hence Development will continue to compels them to stay engage with the Ministry of in these homes. Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to ensure development of suitable modules for skill development. 7. Staff of Swadhar The National Institute of Public Home must be trained Cooperation and Child periodically and Development (NIPCCD) under should be adequately the Ministry of Women & and appropriately, Child Development is already compensated mandated to provide training to financially. different stakeholders including the staff of Swadhar Greh. Depending upon training needs assessment, the CSWB can also be entrusted with this responsibility. Provision has been made for imparting induction training and subsequent periodic training on regular intervals of time to the staff of Swadhar Greh. 8. Immediate action to be In addition to the Swadhar State Governments taken to improve the Greh Scheme being should be encouraged infrastructure of the implemented throughout the to adopt the model Homes and funds to country, the Ministry of planned by the maintain it. Women & Child Development Ministry. has commenced construction of a new 1000 bedded Swadhar Greh at, Vrindavan, Distt. Mathura. It has been designed to be old age friendly and will have dormitories with attached toilet and utility balconies. The Swadhar Greh will also have facility for physiotherapy, open theatre, vocational training, solar PV, solar water heating system, multipurpose hall, etc. The expected date of completion of this Swadhar Greh is January, 2018.

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 10 of 20 PENSION

1. It was found that the The comparison between the Pension, as a welfare current allocation of amount of pension provided by measure ought to be pension was either the Government and the linked with the cost inadequate or minimum wages payable under of living index and non-existent. The various government schemes is should not be primary concerns that not fair. While, pension is paid arbitrarily fixed. arose out of the as a welfare measure without research was that the any services being rendered by pension amounts were the beneficiary, wages is the not linked to the cost remuneration for the services of living. There was rendered by the wage earner. If no rational calculation the two were to be equal, it will for the amounts or the be a major disincentive to able ceiling in the number bodied person to do any work. of beneficiaries that the pension could be given to in any given State. Pension should be based on the Cost of Living Index and hence it should be on par with the minimum wage of an unskilled worker with corresponding increase as the minimum wage increases.

STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING OF SHELTERS

1. A Multi-optional User-fees can be paid by a model be employed person who is earning.

for institutionalized Swadhar scheme caters to shelters. The shelters women who are in the abyss of can be built to cater poverty and payment of any the requirement of the user-fee by them would be user on the basis of a beyond their means.

corresponding user-fee [However, working women for an overnight hostels will be encouraged to shelter, a day shelter be established by the States and

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 11 of 20 or a fulltime shelter. Union Territories.]

2. Direct the integration The two schemes Swadhar Social audits should of Swadhar Homes, Homes and Short Stay Homes be conducted with short stay homes and of the Ministry of Women & regard to other similarly placed Child Development have implementation of facility homes to already been merged into the the schemes. facilitate a smoother new scheme namely Swadhar implementation of the Greh w.e.f. 01.01.2016. This policies directed for scheme is implemented by the widow rehabilitation. State Government/UT Administration with funding from Govt. of India.

3. Enhance the ceiling The proposal for enhancing the limit of three years on limit for staying in Swadhar the women staying in Greh for women beneficiaries Swadhar Homes in above 55 years of age is under order to effectively consideration of the stabilize the lives of Government and a decision in the inmates. this regard will be taken shortly.

4. Structural integration The Ministry of Social Justice of old age homes into and Empowerment has been shelters; To this end, requested to accommodate medical assessment of widows from Swadhar Greh to Women between the Old Age Home on attaining age age of 60 to 65 years of 60 years. The required of age in the shelters medical facilities will be tied be conducted on the up by agencies concerned with basis of which the the local CHCs/PHCs.

women can continue to reside in the shelters.

HEALTH AND NUTRITION

1. To integrate the efforts As stated above, free medicines of the Rashtriya are provided by CHCs and Swasthya BimaPHCs to all patients under the Yojana into the NHM of the Ministry of Health Swadhar Scheme. & Family Welfare and the Ministry has been requested to Linkage of homes that advise all State Governments house old women with and Union Territory medical dispensaries administrations to ensure that is recommended. access to free medicines is ensured to all those staying in

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 12 of 20 Swadhar Homes.

2. Utilization of the Widow pension is paid to Widow Pension individuals. In the light of the Scheme for procuring availability of medicines free medical facilities. of cost, as stated above, it may not be necessary to divert the pension amount for purchase of medicines.

COVERAGE OF LEGAL FEES AND EXPENSES

1. NALSA and DALSA The inmates of Swadhar Greh to allocate appropriate will have access to free legal sanctions to cover the aid provided by legal expenses of the NALSA/DALSA and widows involved in necessary advisory will be legal matters, and the issued in this regard.

incidental expenses incurred for commuting and so on and so forth.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING

1. Mandatory and As stated above, the Ministry organized vocational of Skill Development and training of the women Entrepreneurship has been in the shelters to requested to prepare a plan of impart skill sets action for development of necessary for an skills of widows and orphan, ordinary life and to destitute and marginalized enable them to earn a women through sectoral skill dignified livelihood. development councils. They have also been requested to monitor the progress in this regard at regular intervals. The Ministry of Women & Child Development will continue to engage with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to ensure development of suitable modules.

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 13 of 20 GRANT OF SANCTIONS

1. Enhancement of The financial norms of The norms should be sanctions by the Swadhar Greh Scheme have reviewed every six Ministry to provide been revised w.e.f. 01.01.2016 months. the concerned and on further examination, the agencies with a Department of Expenditure has budget necessary for opined that these are adequate the proper functioning for the time being. of the homes.

Periodic and timely release of grants to facilitate the continuance and sustenance of the homes.

PERIODIC REVIEW OF THE HOMES

1. That the National The National Commission for Commission for Women may take appropriate Women be directed to action for taking the proposed conduct a review to review to study the existing study the existing status of widows in homes. status of widows in the homes in our country in the near future. 2. To this end, grants be National Commission for The Ministry ought sanctioned by the Women may carry out their not to be stingy with Rural Ministry, study out of the existing funds funds – especially for Ministry of Social available with them. a good cause. Justice and Additional funds if sought by Empowerment and the them will be made subject to Ministry of Women availability of funds. and Children for the survey to be conducted by the NCW. 3. Mandate a periodic The Swadhar Greh Scheme has review of the homes an inbuilt monitoring

every five years at the mechanism. The monitoring of State and District Homes is undertaken through a Level to conduct three tiered structure viz. periodic inspections of District Level, State Level and

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 14 of 20 the homes to ensure the Central Level. Swadhar the proper Greh will be sanctioned implementation of the initially for a period of five schemes and the years. After implementation of functioning of the the scheme for 5 years, the homes and the records Project Sanctioning Committee monitored by the DPO shall decide on its further (District Project continuance or otherwise Officer). depending on its performance and need.

Annually for 3 years and then every 3 years.

CREATION OF AWARENESS

1. To engage at rural and The Swadhar Greh Scheme is district levels to being implemented by the State spread awareness of Governments. The States/UTs the existence of the will generate awareness about schemes akin to Swadhar Greh and disseminate swadhar homes and to information about Swadhar impart knowledge of Greh through various modes. the rights exercisable As a part of the scheme, by the women in guidelines have already been similarly placed issued by the Ministry of situations. Women & Child Development.

11. It is also our opinion that the effort put in by all concerned in the

reports that we have adverted to above should not go waste – it must be

gainfully utilized, being in a sense a gold mine of pragmatic and workable

suggestions. Accordingly, we constitute a Committee to study all the reports

filed in this Court and provide us with a common working plan (based on the

suggestions in the reports) within a period of two months and in any case on

or before 30th November, 2017. The Committee shall consist of the

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 15 of 20 following (the first two suggested by the learned Solicitor General on

instructions from the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the

third by learned counsel for the National Commission for Women):

1. Ms. Suneeta Dhar of NGO Jagori,

2. Ms. Meera Khanna of Guild for Service

3. Ms. Abha Singhal Joshi, Lawyer and activist

4. A nominee of HelpAge India, an NGO that has rendered valuable assistance in this case,

5. A nominee of Sulabh International, an NGO that has rendered valuable assistance in this case,

6. Ms. Aparajita Singh, a lawyer practising in this Court to provide any assistance on legal issues.

12. One of the issues adverted to during the hearing of the petitions, but

not mentioned in any of the reports, is the need to encourage widow

remarriage. This is a subject of hope that might enable our society to give up

the stereotype view of widows. We request the Committee to consider this

during its deliberations.

13. We request the National Commission for Women, in public interest, to

assist in providing some working space to the Committee. We propose to

adequately remunerate the Committee with an honorarium that will be

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 16 of 20 decided when the matter is next heard. The Registry will ensure that all the

reports are made available to the members of the Committee.

14. Why are the Action Plan and these directions necessary? We seem to

be forgetting the power of Public Interest Litigation and therefore need to

remind ourselves, from time to time, of its efficacy in providing social

justice. Many years ago, this Court noted in People’s Union for Democratic

Rights v. Union of India1 that

“Public interest litigation is brought before the court not for the purpose of enforcing the right of one individual against another as happens in the case of ordinary litigation, but it is intended to promote and vindicate public interest which demands that violations of constitutional or legal rights of large numbers of people who are poor, ignorant or in a socially or economically disadvantaged position should not go unnoticed and unredressed. That would be destructive of the rule of law which forms one of the essential elements of public interest in any democratic form of Government.”

A little later in the judgment, it was said:

“Millions of persons belonging to the deprived and vulnerable sections of humanity are looking to the courts for improving their life conditions and making basic human rights meaningful for them. They have been crying for justice but their cries have so far been in the wilderness. They have been suffering injustice silently with the patience of a rock, without the strength even to shed any tears.”

15. The advantage of public interest litigation is not only to empower the

economically weaker sections of society but also to empower those suffering

from social disabilities that may not necessarily of their making. The

1 (1982) 3 SCC 235

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 17 of 20 widows of Vrindavan (and indeed in other ashrams) quite clearly fall in this

category of a socially disadvantaged class of our society.

16. Placing empowerment in perspective, this Court noted in State of

Uttaranchal v. Balwant Singh Chaufal2 that the first phase of public

interest litigation concerned itself with primarily with the protection of the

fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution of “the marginalized

groups and sections of the society who because of extreme poverty, illiteracy

and ignorance cannot approach this Court or the High Courts.” We may add

– the socially underprivileged groups. These are the people who have no real

access to justice and in that sense are voiceless, and these are the people who

need to be empowered and whose cause needs to be championed by those

who advocate social justice for the disadvantaged.

17. This recognition formed the basis of the decision of this Court in

Delhi Jal Board v. National Campaign for Dignity & Rights of Sewerage

& Allied Workers3 wherein providing succour to the deprived sections of

society was recognized as a “constitutional duty” of this Court. Referring to

several judgments delivered by this Court, it was observed:

“These judgments are a complete answer to the appellant’s objection to the maintainability of the writ petition filed by Respondent 1. What the High Court has done by entertaining the writ petition and issuing directions for protection of the persons employed to do work

2 (2010) 3 SCC 402 3 (2011) 8 SCC 568

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 18 of 20 relating to sewage operations is part of its obligation to do justice to the disadvantaged and poor sections of the society. We may add that the superior courts will be failing in their constitutional duty if they decline to entertain petitions filed by genuine social groups, NGOs and social workers for espousing the cause of those who are deprived of the basic rights available to every human being, what to say of fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution. It is the duty of the judicial constituent of the State like its political and executive constituents to protect the rights of every citizen and every individual and ensure that everyone is able to live with dignity.”

18. There can be little or no doubt at all that widows in some parts of the

country are socially deprived and to an extent ostracized. Perhaps this is the

reason why many of them choose to come to Vrindavan and other ashrams

where, unfortunately, they are not treated with the dignity they deserve. This

is evident from the article that caused this public interest litigation and the

compilation of reports that this litigation has generated. It is to give voice

these hapless widows that it became necessary for this Court to intervene as

a part of its constitutional duty and for reasons of social justice to issue

appropriate directions.

19. We must express our gratitude to the petitioners, the Ministry of

Women and Child Development and the National Commission for Women

for the efforts put in and particularly to Ms. Renuka Kumar who has been of

great assistance to this Court through her reports.

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 19 of 20

20. With a view to follow-up on the Agreed Action Plan submitted by the

learned Solicitor General, list these matters on 9th October, 2017.

……………………………J (Madan B. Lokur)

……………………………..J (Deepak Gupta) New Delhi;

August 11, 2017

W.P. (C) Nos. 659 of 2007 etc. Page 20 of 20