Supreme Court directs states to provide dry ration to sex workers without insisting on identity proof
The petition has been filed NGO Durbar Women’s Coordination Committee. In this petition it has been said that the situation of sex workers has become very bad due to the covid-19 epidemic.
On Tuesday Supreme Court directed all the states to dry ration without forcing them to produce proof of identity to the sex workers identified by the National AIDS Control Organization and the Legal Services Authorities.
The Supreme Court has also directed all the states to file a report of compliance with this order within four weeks. These reports should contain details about how many sex workers were rationed during this period.
A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Justice Ajay Rastogi said that the question of financial assistance to sex workers during the period of Covid-19 epidemic will be considered later.
Last week, the Supreme Court had asked the Center and the States to bring instructions from the Center and the states on the application for relief to sex workers due to Corona epidemic.
In particular, the lawyers were asked to take instructions from the governments in terms of providing ration and other basic needs without insisting on ration cards.
The petition has also requested to provide ration cards and other facilities to more than nine lakh sex workers in the country.
The bench said that the states will provide dry grains to sex workers and they will be identified with the help of NACO and the District and State Legal Services Authority.
The bench also directs all the states to file a detailed report about how ration cards and other facilities can be provided to these sex workers. The bench said, we know the fact that states are coming forward for help but the problem is that sex workers do not have any proof of identity. Hence ration should be given to all.
The NGO says that surveys conducted between 1.2 lakh sex workers in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Telangana showed that 96 per cent of them had lost their income due to the epidemic. The petition states that sex workers also have the right to live with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution and their problems also need to be taken care of.
By Priya Kumari
