Synopsis: When the government argued that the prices of food products included in the scheme had been fluctuating over the past few months, the Court did not appear too pleased.
Recently, the Karnataka High Court ordered the state government to establish an appropriate mid-day meal system for eligible students.
The Court was previously told that between 1 June to 31 October this year, the State had not provided eligible government students with mid-day meals and aided the schools covered by the scheme.
A Bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Aravind Kumar observed that it prima facie seems that what is given in the order is not going to compensate those who have been deprived of mid-day meals.
On Tuesday, the State filed a memo recording its order dated 5 December in which it detailed the implementation of the 2020-21 mid-day meal scheme. The scheme provided that eligible children would be provided with one kilo of salt, one litre of oil and toor dal.
The Court raised objections to the said scheme at the hearing, because the amount of toor dal was not quantified. Furthermore, it noted that what is the idea behind of one kg of salt being given? In this, is there no irrationality? Will there be 1 kg of salt and 1 litre of oil for a small child? It can’t be vague; the State got to decide the amount of food (toor dal).
Apart from this, the Court did not seem to be too pleased when the Government submitted that the prices of the food products included in the scheme had fluctuated in past few months.
Advocate Clifton D’Rozario, appearing for the petitioner, argued that children should be compensated because they were not provided with mid-day meals for many months in the midst of the pandemic. The Court was notified that this amounts to the violation of life and liberty envisaged under Article 21.
At the previous hearing, the Court noted that the State Government’s failure to implement the mid-day meal scheme constitutes a violation of the right to life and personal liberty referred to under Article 21 of the Constitution and was contrary to the provisions of the National Food Security Act.
The matter will be heard next on the 15th December.