MP/MLA endorsement for women to get ₹2,500 financial assistance a policy decision, did not "come out of sky: Delhi govt to HC

The Delhi High Court on Monday said that it could declare the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana arbitrary if even one deserving woman is excluded from the scheme because of lack of endorsement from the local Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) or the Member of Parliament (MP).

Under the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana, the Delhi government provides financial assistance of ₹2,500 per month to eligible women. 

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia today questioned the rationale behind the condition requiring MP or MLA endorsement. 

“What is the objective you are trying to achieve by this? Suppose you don’t know any MP or MLA? If even one person is left out [because of the condition], then the scheme is arbitrary. What is the objective you are trying to achieve through this condition? There are thousands of ways you can identify people,” the Bench remarked. 

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma appeared for the Delhi government and stated that the government took the policy decision to introduce the condition to ensure that no persona non grata (unwelcome person) gets the benefit. 

Sharma said that the government wants to file a reply in the case and that over six lakh people have received the benefit under the scheme.

“Your lordships may not agree with us, but we are entitled to say how the cabinet has seen it and what the position is in other States. This has not come out of the sky. There is something we want to place on record, we will do it,” he said. 

The High Court said that the wisdom of the government has to be tested on the fundamental rights under the Constitution. It added that there are many other means to ascertain that a persona non grata does not get the benefit.

“Wisdom of the government has to be tested on Part 3 [of the Constitution. You can’t go away by saying this. Every decision, Mr Sharma, has to go the test of Part III (of the Constitution),” the Court said. 

Sharma replied that the government was not "going away" from the issue and that it will file a reply.

The Court has now given the government 10 days to file its affidavit, explaining the rationale behind the condition. 

The Court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by one Abhishek Dutt and another challenging the requirement of getting endorsement from the local MP or MLA. 

It is the petitioner’s case that similar schemes have been introduced in other States but they do not have such a condition.

Notably, even in the previous hearing of the case on August 19, the High Court had posed these questions and asked the government counsel to obtain instructions in the matter.