SWARAJ ABHIYAN - (II) versus UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

Citation: [2016] 9 S.C.R. 295 · Decided: 13-05-2016 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: MADAN B. LOKUR · Disposal: Directions issued

Judgment (excerpt)

[2016] 9 S.C.R. 295 
SWARAJ ABHIYAN - (II) 
v. 
UNION OF INDIA & ORS. 
(Writ Petition (Civil) No. 857 of2015) 
A 
~AYl3,2016 
B 
[MADAN B. LOKUR AND N.V. RAMANA, JJ.) 
Public Interest Litigation - Food security to persons affected 
by the drought - Drought or drought like conditions prevailing in 
some parts of the country - Monitoring and Implementation of the 
C 
National Food Security Act - Need to ensure food security to the 
said persons - Non-implementation of the Act by some of the States 
- Held: No Mandamus can be issued to the State Governments to 
implement the NFS Act beyond what is required by the terms and 
provisions of the statute - This Court can direct the State to faithfully 
implement the provisions of the NFS Act - No direction can be issued D 
to make available edible oils and dal/lentil to needy people - It is 
not the statutory or constitutional obligation 011 the State- Without 
edible oils and dalllentil the fundamental right of the people in 
drought affected areas guaranteed u/Art. 21 is not violated- Though 
Art. 47 which directs the State to raise the level of nutrition and the 
E 
standard of living of the people, is not enforceable being a Directive 
Principle, there is considerable moral force and authority to 
persuade the State Governments and the Government of India to 
attempt at ensuring that the people in drought affected areas, are 
provided adequate food grains and a cooking medium - Mechanism 
for enforcing several provisions of the NFS Act has not been 
F 
established or constituted - It is high time that machinery under 
NFS is put in place othenvise enactment of social legislation would 
have no meaning at all - In view thereof. issuance of directions by 
this Court for effective implementation of the statute - Each of the 
States to establish an internal grievance mechanism and appoint or G 
designate for each district a District Grievance Redressal Officer -
States to constitute a State Food Commission for the purpose of 
monitoring and reviewing the implementation of the NFS Act - States 
in which drought has been declared or might be declared in the 
future, all households to be provided with their monthly entitlement 
295 
H 
296 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2016) 9 S.C.R. 
A of food grains in terms of the NFS Act regardless of whether they 
fall in the category of priority household or not or they have a 
ration card or not - States of Bihar. Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to 
make adequate provision for the supply of eggs or milk or any 
other nutritional substitute for children under the Mid-Day Meal 
B 
Scheme - Constitution of India - Arts. 32, 21, 47 - National Food 
Security Act, 2013 - ss. 2(14), JO, 14, 15, 16. 
National Food Security Act, 2013 - Implementation of- Held: 
Union of India usually brings into force a statute without putting in 
place the implementation machinery - Mechanism for enforcing 
C several provisions of the NFS Act not established or constituted, 
which is totally strange - Delayed approach in execution enables 
some State Governments to take it easy and implement the law 
whenever it is co11ve11ient to do so. 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
State of Himachal Pradesh v. Umed Ram Sharma (1986) 
2 SCC 68 : 1986 (1) SCR 251; State of H.P. v. High 
Court of H.P. (2000) 10 SCC 646; State of Uttarancha/ 
v. Ba/want Singh Chau/al (2010) 3 SCC 402 : 2010 (1) 
SCR 678; Municipal Council, Rat/am v. Vardichan 
(1980) 4 SCC 162: 1981 (1) SCR 97; Khatri{!/) v. State 
of Bihar (1981) 1 SCC 627 : 1981 (2) SCR 408; 
Paschim. Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity v. State of W.B. 
(1996) 4 SCC 37: 1996 (2) Suppl. SCR 331; Shantistar 
Builders v. Narayan Khimalal Totame (1990) 1 SCC 
520 - referred to. 
Case Law Reference 
1?86 (1) SCR 251 
referred to 
Para 14 
(2000) 10 sec 646 
referred to 
Para 16 
2910 (1) SCR 678 
referred to 
Para 18 
1981 (1) SCR 97 
referred to 
Para24 
1981 (2) SCR 408 
referred to 
Para25 
1996 (2) Suppl. SCR 331 
referred to 
Para 26 
(1990) 1 sec 520 
referred to 
Para26 
SWARAJ ABHIYAN - (II) v. UNION OF INDIA & ORS. 
297 
CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Writ Petition (Civil) No. 
A 
857 of2015. 
Under Article 32 of the Constitution oflndia. 
Prashant Bhushan, Rohit Kr. Singh, Govind Jee, 0. Kuttan, Advs., 
for the Petitioner. 
P.S. Narasimha, Tushar Mehta, ASGs, Ajit Kumar Sinha, Sr. Adv., 
Anil Grover, Irshad Ahmad, AAGs, Mukul Singh, Irhan George, Ajay 
Sharma, Sridhar Potaraju, B.K. Satija, Neeraj Kumar Sharma, Guntur 
Prabhakar, Ms. Prema Singh, Gopal Singh,

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