A Supreme Court Bench comprising of Justices N.V. Ramana, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and B.R. Gavai issued directions to the Centre in a case concerning “One Nation One Ration Card” scheme. The Court issued directions in response to a Public Interest Litigation filed by two lawyers- Mr. Reepak Kansal and AoR Sanjay Kumar Visen. The petitioners urged for the urgent adoption of “One Nation One Ration Card” scheme. This would, they argued, benefit migrant workers and protect the rights of the entitled beneficiaries.
To support the same, they submitted that due to the lack of the scheme, the said section is not getting benefits such as subsidized food grains. Mr. Kansal argued that the Central and State Governments have an obligation to provide food, shelter and medical aid to such persons. Further, citing Article 21 of the Constitution of India to support his argument.
Thereafter, the court asked the Centre to consider the viability of the implementation of the scheme. Reportedly, the Bench was unwilling to intervene with the advanced implementation of the scheme; it is set to come in effect from June 2020. It stated that “The Government is looking after these things.” However, it issued directions to consider the viability of earlier implementation.
