The Delhi High Court recently took suo motu cognizance of a news report that said a government-run night shelter for homeless women in the capital is left without food supply and that its inmates are now forced to beg on the streets.
The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad directed that the practice of providing food to all night shelters shall continue.
During the course of hearing, the court was apprised that the city government is providing food to all night shelters. At this juncture, the bench ordered thus- “It is directed that the practice of providing food to all night shelters, including the night shelter which is the subject matter of the present PIL will continue and the same will not be discontinued without the leave of the Court.”
“It is needless to mention that the agency i.e., Akshaya Patra Foundation which was earlier providing food to all the night shelters will continue to provide food to all night shelters and same process of payment, which was continuing earlier, will continue,” added the bench.
The development ensued when Delhi High Court judge Justice C. Hari Shanker forwarded a copy of a Times of India article dated April 28, 2023, to the Chief Justice in respect of a Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) shelter for homeless single women in Nizamuddin.
As per the report, Akshaya Patra Foundation halted supplying meals to the shelter house, forcing around 60 homeless single women, including elderly and people with disabilities, and 17 children living at the shelter house to beg on the streets for food.
The bench, while issuing notice in the matter, sought response from the Delhi Government and the DUSIB. Furthermore, Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan has been appointed amicus curiae to assist the court in the matter.
The matter will next be heard on May 30, 2023.