HARIPAL Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Let no one die of hunger is a fundamental duty postulated under Article 47 of the Constitution of India that must be read as a part of the right to life under Article 21 for it is the right to food without which the dignified existence of human beings is inconceivable. In other words, right to food is inherent in Article 21 of the Constitution of India obliging the State to ensure the execution of its duties in the true spirit of Article 47 read with Article 39-A of the Constitution of India. The discharge of this obligation fundamentally requires the government to have a Public Distribution System to reach out to the underprivileged citizens in order to satiate the basic ingredient of dignified life i.e. right to food. In the State of Uttar Pradesh, the targeted population for the supply of food grains under the Food Security Act, 2013 i.e. Patra Grahasthi and Antyodaya Ann Yojna is aimed at 15.21 crores out of which 14.69 crores are identified through bio-metric system according to the online report dated 11.2.2021 and this is what the statement on behalf of the State Government reads in para-6 of the counter affidavit filed in Writ Petition No. 16086 (MS) of 2021. For a population of this dimension residing in rural areas, the State Government is obliged to evolve a foolproof mechanism ensuring distribution of food grains as per the policy of the State trammeled in law.

(2.) Public Distribution System is incorporated under Entry-28 Schedule-XI of the Constitution of India, which by virtue of Article 243G, mandates as under:

(3.) In the pursuit of objects under Article 47 of the Constitution of India, the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 was enacted decades back but towards the fulfillment of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, the Food Security Act, 2013 was enacted by the Parliamant, whereunder, the targeted population as per the policy of the State is attentively focused for raising their standards of livelihood to a dignified level. It is for the achievement of this object that Public Distribution System is significant and must work to the optimum good of people particularly for the targeted village population. In the first two writ petitions at hand, the Court is concerned with the distribution of food grains through Public Distribution System at the village level which involves creation of an incentive based 'agency' by the government of which the financial liability payable to the dealers is met with out of the State largesse as a means of purported employment both in rural and urban areas. The targeted population in U.P. for this purpose in urban areas corresponds to 4.5 crores whereas in rural areas, it is figured at 15.51 crores.