Shocked at laxity, indifference of government: Rajasthan High Court directs disbursal of grant-in-aid to children's shelter home

The Jodhpur Bench of the Rajasthan High Court recently directed the Central and State governments to disburse the complete grant-in-aid due to a society running a shelter home for children [Laveena Vikas Seva Sansthan v State of Rajasthan]..Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati expressed his shock at the lax and indifferent approach of the government in dealing with the issue.“In the era where the modern India stands, such an abject failure of governance, to this extent, cannot be tolerated," he observed..Justice Bhati was hearing a plea by a society qualified for a grant from the government in relation to welfare of children living at a shelter home run by it.According to the petitioner, the Centre had sanctioned the first instalment, but the respondents were sitting tight over the funds..On the other hand, counsel appearing for the Centre and the State jointly submitted that all necessary steps were being taken to ensure the disbursement of the grant-in-aid. According to them, the State had approved the sanction for the funds question.The Centre's counsel sought a short time to ensure that the grant was released to the society..Despite such assurances, the Court took into account the fact that notices were issued to the respondents a year ago, despite which they had not duly responded to the petition.“The State is the guardian of orphaned and otherwise deprived children, and ought to act in a timely and sensitive manner especially in cases where the welfare of children is concerned, as in the instant case, where the children living in the open shelter home are being deprived from fundamental and basic necessities such as food and clothing, among others, owing to the technical and procedural delays on the part of the State and its bureaucratic machinery,” the single-judge observed..The Court recorded that while it could have passed orders for compensation and levied a penalty on both State parties for inaction, based on the assurances, an interim order was being passed.It was thus directed that the amount must be paid to the society within 30 days. In case the same was not done, the presence of the State's Social Justice and Empowerment Department Secretary and the Centre's Under Secretary of the Central Ministry of Women and Child Project was sought on the next date..With these directions, the case was adjourned to December 16, 2022.Advocate Pratishtha Dave Sinha appeared for the petitioner while the respondents were represented by Deputy Solicitor General Mukesh Rajpurohit and Additional Advocate General AK Gaur..[Read Order]