States cannot shirk on their duty to poor: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that food security for the poor under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) should not absolve states of their duty to bring the poor out of poverty, as defined by the state, as it dealt with a petition that seeks to increase the cap on ration card beneficiaries under the Act that was based on the 2011 census.

Dealing with a petition filed by a group of spirited citizens asking for remedies to miseries faced by migrant labourers, the bench refused to accept that the cap needs to be increased, noting that the cap does not include the addition of poor individuals and families between the 2011 and 2021 of the census period.

A bench headed by justice Surya Kant observed, “Problem is not with the cap or ceiling. What is troubling us is that we are on the premise that in 2011, suppose 70% were poor, now after so many years, the poor have kept on increasing...Are we still carrying the same tag of poverty. Are we proceeding on the premise that the country has not progressed.”

Additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, submitted an affidavit indicating that the provisions of the NFSA Act do not permit revision of the cap fixed for each state. It said that states are under an obligation to periodically exclude and include beneficiaries based on periodic surveys.

The bench, also comprising justice N Kotiswar Singh, said, “Why do states insist on keeping these persons under the poverty line. Why are they not making efforts to bring them up.”

Advocate Prashant Bhushan who argued the application moved by RTI activist Anjali Bharadwaj among others said that states have been demanding for additional foodgrains and even the Centre admits there are 13,41,000 potential beneficiaries currently waitlisted for NFSA coverage across states.

Bhushan said that by relying on the 2011 census, the government is effectively denying food security coverage to the poor who have increased over the last more than 10 years. “The eligibility of determining beneficiary of ration cards under NFSA is based on a criteria of poverty. Our concern is, those who fulfill the criteria should not be left out,” Bhushan said.

The bench asked Bhushan, “Why should there not be a uniform benchmark of poverty in all states...you assume that if population has increased, there is proportional increase in the poor. It is convenient for states to say give more ration cards because they don’t want to be answerable. No doubt, in terms of Article 21, if a person identified as poor comes to us, we will wipe their tears, but let us also consider what is the policy of states to determine poverty. We want states to be happy to announce so many persons have shifted up from the below poverty line.”

ASG Bhati informed the court that the fiscal sustainability of the NFSA requires a defined ceiling limit on the number of beneficiaries, to avoid rendering it open-ended. “This ceiling, grounded in the 2011 census, is a fundamental principle of rightful targeting, as set forth in Sections 10 and 24 of the NFSA,” the affidavit of the Centre filed on Tuesday said.

Even on the Labour ministry’s e-shram portal, the Centre pointed out that out of over 303 million registrants, 255 crore (84%) possess ration cards. Of these, over 237 million are covered under the NFSA, while the remaininig beneficiaries receive support under specific state schemes across the 17 states.

Many states operate ration card schemes, independently covering 140 million beneficiaries outside NFSA’s purview, the affidavit added, while making a point that “states possess both the resources and mechanisms necessary to provide food grain provisions to additional eligible e-Shram registrants through their own state schemes also, without solely relying on NFSA coverage.”

Bhati said that the potential waitlisted individuals under NFSA cannot directly be entitled to get ration cards as they must first be verified. The e-KYC process carried out by states for this purpose has so far covered 78% of total beneficiaries covered under NFSA till March 31, 2025. But this process only verifies identity but does not ascertain their socio-economic eligibility for receiving ration cards.

“Thus, a comprehensive socio-economic assessment, beyond e-KYC, is essential to maintain the integrity of NFSA beneficiary rightful targeting,” the Centre said.

As the arguments remained inconclusive, the bench posted the matter for further hearing on Thursday.