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

ITEM NO.305 COURT NO.9 SECTION PIL(W) S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No(s).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 Office Report) W.P.(C) No. 168/2012 Date : 14/08/2015 These petitions were called on for hearing today. CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MADAN B. LOKUR HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE UDAY UMESH LALIT For Petitioner(s) Mr. Ravindra Bana, AOR NALSA Ms. Anitha Shenoy, AOR Mr. Colin Gonsalves, Sr. Adv. Mr. Divya Jyoti Jaipuriar, Adv. Mr. Sarvajeet Kumar Thakur, Adv. Ms. Jyoti Mendiratta, AOR For Respondent(s) Mr. Kailash Vasdev, Sr. Adv. Ms. Natasha Vinayak, Adv. Mr. Wasim A. Qadri, Adv. Mr. Shalinder Saini, Adv. Mr. B.V. Balaram Das, Adv. Signature Not Verified Ms. Vimla Sinha, Adv. Ms. Sunita Sharma, Adv. Digitally signed by Sanjay Kumar Date: 2015.08.17 17:25:24 IST Reason: Mr. Amarjit Singh, Adv. Mrs. Anil Katiyar, Adv. Ms. Sushma Suri, AOR Mr. D.S. Mahra, Adv. 2 NCW Ms. Aparna Bhat, AOR Ms. Tanima Kishore, Adv. Uttar Pradesh Mr. Gaurav Bhatia, AAG Ms. Pragati Neekhra, AOR Mr. Mukul Singh, Adv.

UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following O R D E R

A copy of the Status Report has been handed over to us in Court today by learned Additional Advocate General for the State of Uttar Pradesh. The learned Additional Advocate General states that the recommendations and suggestions in the Report are acceptable to the State of Uttar Pradesh and they will be implemented with all earnestness. We express our gratitude to Ms. Renuka Kumar, Principal Secretary in the Department of Women and Child Welfare, Government of Uttar Pradesh for her efforts in preparing the Report after making several field visits.

We have gone through the Report which appears to be quite comprehensive. However, some areas need further consideration, viz., with regard to financial aspects and the construction of homes for the widows.

It appears that the projected financial outlay may require fresh look, but Mr. Kailash Vasdev, learned senior counsel appearing for the Union of India assures us that whatever is due to the State of Uttar Pradesh under the SWADHAR Scheme, as mentioned in the Report, 3

will be released at the earliest. It is pointed out by the learned Additional Advocate General for the State of Uttar Pradesh that a large number of letters have been sent to the Government of India which are part of the Report. Mr. Kailash Vasdev assures us that they will be taken into consideration by the Government of India while releasing the grants under the SWADHAR Scheme or any other applicable Scheme.

Learned counsel appearing for the National Commission for Women says that there was a Memorandum of Understanding between the National Commission for Women

and HUDCO for construction of homes for widows in Vrindavan as a part of the CSR Scheme. She says that this has not been mentioned in the Report and reliance has been placed entirely upon HelpAge India for assistance which is a good NGO. Nevertheless, assistance from HUDCO may also be necessary.

Under these circumstances, we direct that a meeting be conducted in the next three weeks chaired by the Secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India to finalize the plan of action in terms of the various orders passed by this Court in this case from time to time. The other participants in the meeting will include Ms. Renuka Kumar the author of the Report and the Principal Secretary in the Department of Women and Child Welfare, Government of Uttar Pradesh, a 4

representative of the National Commission for Women, a representative of HUDCO, a representative of HelpAge India, the Member-Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh State Legal Services Authority and the Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority of Mathura District. The decisions taken in the meeting should be circulated well in advance and placed on record.

List these matters on 16th October, 2015.

COURT MASTER COURT MASTER

(SANJAY KUMAR-I) (JASWINDER KAUR)