National Legal Services Authority Member Secretary vs. Union Of India Ministry Of Human Resource Development Secretary

ITEM NO.303 COURT NO.10 SECTION PIL S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Writ Petition(Civil) No.659/2007 ENVIRONMENT & CONSUMER PROTN.FOUNDATION Petitioner(s) VERSUS UNION OF INDIA & ORS. Respondent(s) (With appln.(s) for directions, permission to file additional documents and office report) (For Final Disposal) WITH W.P.(C) No. 133/2012 (With appln.(s) for exemption from filing O.T. and intervention and Office Report) W.P.(C) No. 168/2012 Date : 20/02/2015 These petitions were called on for heari ng today. CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MADAN B. LOKUR HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE UDAY UMESH LALIT For Petitioner(s) Mr. Ravindra Bana, AOR Mr. Rono Mohanthy, Adv. Ms. Anitha Shenoy, AOR Mr. Colin Gonsalves, Sr. Adv. Ms. Jubli Momalia, Adv. Ms. Jyoti Mendiratta, AOR For Respondent(s) Signature Not Verified Mr. Anuvrat Sharma, AOR Digitally signed by NCW Mr. Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar, Adv. Sanjay Kumar Date: 2015.03.11 17:17:08 IST Reason: Ms. Aparna Bhat, AOR Ms. Sushma Suri, AOR 2

Mr. S. Wasim A. Qadri, Adv. Ms. Vimla Sinha, Adv. Mr. Zaid Ali, Adv. Mr. D.S. Mahra, AOR

Ms. Bina Madhavan, AOR

Ms. Nimla Sinha, Adv. Mr. Sudarshan Singh Rawat, AOR Mr. Abhijit Sengupta, AOR For States of Bihar Mr. Gopal Singh, AOR Mr. Chandan Kumar, Adv. Mr. Manish Kumar, Adv. Ms. Rashmi Srivastava, Adv. Chhattisgarh Mr. Apoorv Kurup, Adv. Mr. Aniruddh P. Mayee, Adv. Mr. Rohit Rathi, Adv. Ms. Charudatta Mahindrakar, Adv. H.P. Mr. Suryanaryana Singh, AAG Ms. Pragati Neekhra, AOR J&K Mr. G.M. Kawoosa, Adv. Mr. Ashok Mathur, Adv. Maharashtra Mrs. Asha Gopalan Nair, AOR Mr. Aniruddha P. Mayee, Adv. Manipur Mr. Sapam Biswajit Meitei, Adv. Mr. Ashok Kumar Singh, AOR Mr. Z.H. Isaac Haiding, Adv. Mizoram Mr. Nitish Kumar, Adv. Mr. P.V. Yogeswaran, AOR Nagaland Mrs. K. Enatoli Sema, Adv. Mr. Amit Kumar Singh, Adv. Mr. Balaji Srinivasan, Adv. Rajasthan Mr. S.S. Shamshery, Adv. Mr. Amit Sharma, Adv. Mr. Sandeep Singh, Adv. Ms.Ruchi Kohli, Adv. 3 Sikkim Mr. A. Mariarputham, AAG Ms. Aruna Mathur, Adv. for M/s Arputham Aruna & Co. Tripura Mr. Gopal Singh, AOR Mr. Rituraj Biswas, Adv. Ms. Rashmi Srivastava, Adv. Uttar Pradesh Mr. Gaurav Bhatia, Adv. Ms. Pragati Neekhra, AOR Mr. Utkarsh Jaiswal, Adv. Mr. Ataruami Upadhyay, Adv. West Bengal Mr. Anip Sachthey, Adv. Mr. Mohit Paul, Adv. A&N Islands Mr. K.V. Jagdishvaran, Adv. Mrs. G. Indira, AOR Puducherry Mr.V.G. Pragasam, AOR Mr. S.J. Aristotle, Adv. Mr. Prabu Ramasubramanian, Adv. Mr. Khwairakpam Nobin Singh, AOR UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following O R D E R

We have heard learned counsel in all the three writ petitions.

Writ Petition (C) No.659 (Environment & Consumer Protn. Foundation Vs. Union of India & Ors.) will be taken up as the lead case and if any documents are to be filed, they should be filed only in this case and not in any of the other connected matters.

The case pertains to the plight of widows in Vrindavan, State of Uttar Pradesh. 4

The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has filed a report in September, 2014 in W.P.(C) No.133 of 2012. The District Legal Services Authority, District Court, Mathura, UP has filed some reports in W.P.(C) No.659 of 2007. The National Commission for Women has also filed a report but in W.P.(C) No.659 of 2007.

It appears that no substantial progress has been made to ameliorate the problems and difficulties of the widows in Vrindavan in spite of all these reports.

Under these circumstances, we appoint Ms. Renuka Kumar, Principal Secretary, Department of Women and Child Welfare, Government of Uttar Pradesh as the Nodal Officer to look into various reports and take action in accordance with these reports and in accordance with the orders passed by us on 3rd August, 2012.

We expect the State of Uttar Pradesh to render all assistance to Ms. Renuka Kumar in carrying out the task. We also expect her to visit Vrindavan at least on a couple of occasions and to meet concerned stake holders including the government officials, the Member Secretary, DLSA and some widows to get first-hand knowledge and information about the living condition and

other facilities available to the widows in Vrindavan. 5

Ms. Renuka Kumar should formulate a plan of action to ameliorate their condition. The plan will include the financial implications in implementing that plan and the administrative support that may be required. The needful should be done within a period of 45 days from today.

Learned counsel for the State of Uttar Pradesh will forward all reports on the subject to Ms. Renuka Kumar within two weeks and coordinate efforts with her.

A copy of this order be dispatched by the Registry to Ms. Renuka Kumar, Principal Secretary, Department of Women and Child Welfare, Government of Uttar Pradesh.

List these matters on 17th April, 2015.

COURT MASTER COURT MASTER

(SANJAY KUMAR-I) (JASWINDER KAUR)