The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed concern over the failure of States and Union Territories (UTs) to comply with its March 19 order to verify and distribute ration cards to nearly 8 crore migrant workers.
A division bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah cautioned that States failing to comply with the March 19 order regarding the verification and distribution of ration cards to nearly 8 crore migrant workers could face contempt of court action. The bench further warned that Chief Secretaries of these States may be summoned in response to non-compliance.
"This is absolutely atrocious by States. We will call upon Chief Secretaries if it is not complied with by the next date. Don't ever think that we don't know how to ensure compliance of our order. Remember this," the Court said.
Following advocate Prashant Bhushan's update to the Court, indicating that only Tripura and Bihar have completed 100% verification of ration cards, the bench took note. It highlighted that other States and Union Territories are either in the process of completing verification or, concerning some, have not initiated the process at all.
It was also brought to the Court's attention that even in cases where ration cards were issued, some States and Union Territories were not providing ration to these workers. This was reportedly due to the assertion that the Central government had not allocated additional ration to them.
"Who are these States to judge the Supreme Court's order? Tell us who have not complied with. We will impose cost and will call upon Chief Secretaries for non-compliance. 4 months have passed and nothing has been done," the Court remarked.
The Court was addressing a suo motu case concerning the welfare of migrant workers, which originated during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.
On March 19 of this year, the Court had directed States and Union Territories to complete the task of issuing ration cards to 8 crore migrant workers within two months. This directive came after the Court observed that its previous order, issued a year ago, to provide ration cards to migrant workers had still not been fully implemented.
On March 19, the Court had also stated that the Central government's process of completing electronic know your customer (KYC) for the card-holders could proceed concurrently.
During today's hearing, the Court was informed that this directive had not yet been implemented..
"Atrocious. You want us to comment on the sanctity of the office bearers of the governments here. We will not shy away from it. We will write an essay on this. Don't force us. You don't force us to comment on your government," the Court said.
The Court eventually granted an additional 4 weeks to all States and Union Territories to ensure compliance with its directive to fully verify and issue ration cards to migrant workers.
The matter will be heard again on August 27.
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