‘Too serious,’ says SC on 3 crore ‘cancelled’ ration cards; issues notice to Centre, states

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 17

Terming the cancellation of around three crore ration cards due to their non-linking with the holders’ Aadhaar numbers as “too serious”, the Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Centre and states asking them to spell out their respective stand.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said the matter should not be treated as adversarial as it was too serious a matter after senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing petitioner Koili Devi, raised the issue.

“We are asking you (Centre) to respond because of the Aadhaar issue. This is not an adversarial litigation. We will hear it finally. Issue notice returnable in four weeks,” the Bench said. Even as Additional Solicitor General Aman Lekhi pointed out that notice had already been issued in the matter and the Centre’s response was there on record.

However, Gonsalves said notice had not been issued on the main plea but alternative grievance redressal. “Principle issue is the cancellation of three crore ration cards and starvation deaths,” he said.

The PIL has been filed by Devi, a poor Dalit woman whose 11-year-old daughter Santoshi of Simdega district in Jharkhand died of starvation on September 28, 2018. Santoshi’s sister Gudiya Devi is the joint petitioner in the case.

The petition contended that Santoshi died as the local authorities had cancelled the ration card of her family since they failed to link it with Aadhaar.  It said subsequently, the family stopped receiving ration from March 2017 and as a result, the entire family had been starving.

Even on the day Santoshi died, her mother could only serve her some tea with salt – the only thing the family had in its kitchen, the plea said, adding that Santoshi succumbed to hunger later that night.

But the Centre had said reports suggested that the deaths were not due to starvation. No one was denied food because of lack of valid Aadhaar card, it added.

As Gonsalves alleged that the Centre cancelled around three crore ration cards, Lekhi countered him, terming his statement as “wrong”.

On December 9, 2019, the court had sought responses from all the states over allegations of starvation deaths of people who were deprived of their ration supplies for not having valid Aadhaar cards and asked them to list the steps taken for implementation of the grievance redressal mechanism contained in the National Food Security Act, 2013.