Supreme Court Leaves Decision on Community Kitchens to Centre and States, Refrains from Passing Judicial Order

The government denied that there had been any starvation deaths in the nation and insisted that the various policies developed under the National Food Safety Act (NFSA) had significantly addressed the issues of hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court asked the federal government, the states, and the Union Territories to consider establishing "community kitchens," but it declined to issue any judicial orders.

"The courts cannot direct the states to implement a particular policy or scheme on the grounds that a better, fairer, or wiser alternative is available," said a bench of Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal in their ruling. Judicial evaluation would focus on the legality of the policy rather than its wisdom or soundness.

"We do not propose to give any further direction in that regard," the statement reads, "when the NFSA with a 'right-based approach' for providing food and nutritional security is in force and other welfare schemes under the said Act have also been framed and implemented by the Union of India and the states to ensure access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity."

The bench further stated that the court had not looked into whether community kitchens were a better or wiser alternative that the states could use to accomplish the goal of the NFSA and that they would prefer to leave it up to the states and UTs to investigate any other welfare programs that might be allowed under the NFSA.

The court made this decision in response to a PIL submitted by Anum Dhawan and a few other people who were identified as social activists. The petition asked the center, the states, and the union territories to establish community kitchens where the impoverished could get free, wholesome meals. The petitioners claimed that a significant portion of the impoverished died from starvation and malnourishment.

In response to the Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the Center and the states/UTs submitted affidavits asserting the absence of starvation or hunger-related fatalities. Conversely, it was said that several measures under the NFSA had been developed by the corresponding administrations to address the issue of starvation.

The states and union territories mentioned programs like the Take Home Ration, Poshan Abhiyan, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, Midday Meal, Open Market Sales, One Nation One Ration Card, Annapurna, and Antyodaya Anna Yojana, among others. They also mentioned that the Integrated Child Development Services and the Integrated Tribal Development Programme oversee a few of these programs.

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