NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Telangana government over the cancellation of around 19 lakh ration cards in the state. The top court directed the Telangana government to carry out verification of the ration cards cancelled by it in pursuance of the notification issued by the central government in 2016. The court has also asked the Chief Secretary of the state to file an affidavit before it and provide information on the steps taken before the cancellation of rations cards in the state.
The top court was hearing a plea by activist SQ Masood against an order of the Telangana High Court that had dismissed the petition on the cancellation of around 19 lakh ration cards in the state.
“We deem it proper that an affidavit shall be filed by the Chief Secretary informing the top court on steps taken before cancellation of the ration cards in the state of Telangana. Direct the state to conduct verification of all the cards cancelled...We are informed that there are 17 parameters that were taken into account before cancellation. The authorities are directed to conduct verification of all the cards and also deal with the representation by any card holder who's card got canceled,” the top court orally said.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves appearing for the petitioner argued that the ration cards of 19 lakh people were cancelled without assigning any reason and that there was no human intervention in the matter. He further said that the ration cards were cancelled based on computer algorithms.
The top court quizzed the state on the details obtained before such a decision was taken.
“You are dealing with people who take ration from PDS. This SLP has been filed against a judgement of the high court by which the writ petition filed by the HC in a cryptic order on the ground that no relief can be granted with the lockdown being lifted. Cancel 19 lakhs of ration cards without an opportunity to the card holders to defend themselves?,” Justice L. Nageswara Rao said.
The counsel of the state government argued that around 4 crore cards have been cancelled at the all India level and it is not specific to the state of Telangana. He added that the ones whose cards are cancelled can apply again.
To this, the top court questioned the state on how it can ask people to again apply after cancellation.
The special leave petition has been filed against the high court that had disposed of the matter with directions that “the lockdown was recalled by the government at the end of August 2020 and the relief prayer does not survive any longer."
The plea had contended that the main issue of this case pertains to cancellation of about 17 lakh ration cards in Telangana without notice to the ration card holders resulting in deprivation of food to lakhs of vulnerable persons, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, which is already causing widespread suffering, hunger and loss of lives.
The petitioner submitted that the high court has grossly erred by closing the petition simply because the lockdown was recalled. The lifting of the lockdown doesn’t affect the duty of the state to protect the constitutional right of food, it said.
The plea added that if the Covid-19 pandemic had passed, the cancellation of ration cards, by simply terming them “bogus” and without prior intimation to the concerned persons and giving them a reasonable opportunity to be heard, is arbitrary and violative of the provisions of the NFSA Act, 2013 and Article 21 of the Constitution of India.