HC sets aside doorstep ration delivery scheme

The Delhi high court on Thursday scrapped the Delhi government's door-to-door ration delivery scheme, holding that the decision to roll out the scheme, cannot be construed as a mere "executive" action as it did not have the approval of the Lieutenant Governor (L-G).

- Richa Banka

The court, however, clarified that the Delhi government can make its own policy using its own resources and not those of the Union government, referring to the foodgrains that are typically available via fair price shops (FPS).

The scheme has been a flashpoint between the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government and the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi. A bench of acting chief justice Vipin Sanghi and justice Jasmeet Singh said the policy does not comply with the provisions of the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, effectively ending its legality.

"In the facts of the present case, the impugned scheme for doorstep delivery of rations to the beneficiaries under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) framed by the cabinet decision on March 24, 2021, has not been approved/consented to by the L-G and, therefore, in any event of the matter, the same cannot be implemented in its present form," the bench said in a 174-page judgment.

Reacting to the judgment, a Delhi government official said it would analyze the judgment and decide the future course of action.

The ruling was on pleas by the Delhi Sarkari Ration Dealers Sangh, a group of FPS owners, challenging the Mukhyamantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana (doorstep ration delivery scheme) and demanding that it should be declared ultra vires (beyond one's legal power or authority).

The court accepted the submission of the petitioner's counsel that rather than discharging its duties of maintaining vigilance and eliminating corruption, which itself would make the current system more efficient and transparent, the Delhi government chose to introduce the scheme with a view to bypassing the existing FPS network, and replace it with another set of persons, who would be appointed as FPS owners, and who would have much "deeper pockets".