Supreme Court pulls up Gujarat for not implementing FSA

The Supreme Court on Monday slammed the Gujarat government for not implementing the National Food Security Act and wondered whether it was not part of India or wanted to break away from the Union of India.

A bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and R.K. Agrawal, hearing a PIL filed by NGO Swaraj Abhiyan seeking implementation of the FS Act, also questioned as to what Parliament and the Union government were doing when the state was not implementing a law enacted by Parliament in 2013. The Act mandates provision of 5 kg of rice/wheat to each member of a BPL family in every state and UT.

Justice Lokur observed that if Gujarat was allowed to have its way, then other states which are implementing the Act will also stop doing so, citing Gujarat as an example.

The NGO has pleaded that the FSA should not be confined only to BPL families but all families living in 11 drought affected states of the country. Solicitor-General Ranjit Kumar who was asked to collate information from all states/ UTs on the implementation during the last hearing, submitted that Gujarat was one of the nine states which was not implementing the FSA at all as it had some reservation on the scheme. But he could not furnish details about which of the states are not implementing the Act.

Annoyed at this submission, Justice Lokur asked the S-G “How can they say it It is an Act passed by Parliament. You want to break away from the Union of India Tomorrow, Bihar will say we are not implementing it because Gujarat is not implementing it. Once a law is passed by Parliament, can the states, say we are not going to implement. What about the CrPC. Tomorrow some other states will say we are not going to implement it (CrPC). What is the Government of India doing What is Parliament doing

“Today it is Gujarat, tomorrow Bihar . Then Chattisgarh, Haryana will say the same thing. Where is the system going “Jhharkhand has been implementing, but from tomorrow they will be saying Gujarat is not doing it, we will not do it. “Karnataka is doing (implementing) it, they will say we will not implement. Madhya Pradesh will say we are not implementing. Telangana will say the same thing”, Justice Lokur observed. Is Gujarat unique We are nobody to tell you what you should be doing. But the question is whether you believe in Parliament, or Indian laws as of now the law (Act) stands or not If not why

The Bench then directed the SG to place before it details of the scheme being implemented by various States/UTs by February 12 and posted the matter for further hearing February 15.