Bhuvana Marni
Published on: October 7, 2022 at 20:33 IST
The Supreme Court has ordered all of the States and Union Territories to provide information on their current aged welfare programmes, including:
(i) Pensions for the elderly;
(ii) Old age facilities in each District; and
(iii) Degree of geriatric care.
The court further requested that the States and Union Territories provide information on the current state of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act’s implementation.
They were instructed to provide this information to the Union of India’s Advocate-on-Record, who would then submit a new status report within a month.
An appeal addressing the protection of senior citizens’ rights was being heard by the Supreme Court’s bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia. The petition was made in accordance with Article 32 of the Constitution by former Union Law Minister Dr Ashwani Kumar.
Similar instructions were given by the Supreme Court earlier in 2018 when it rendered a decision on the subject.
The Union of India was instructed to gather the necessary data from all State Governments and Union Territories regarding the number of old age homes, medical facilities, and geriatric care facilities that are available to senior citizens in each district and file a status report.
The Union of India was also instructed to prepare an action plan to publicize the MWP Act’s provisions and ensure that senior citizens are aware of the said Act’s provisions.
The Court further ordered the Government of India to give the State Government the necessary instructions for carrying out the constitutional mandate to guarantee the elderly the right to live in dignity and to provide them with reasonable housing, medical facilities, and geriatric care.
The Court also noted that more focused and vigorous efforts were required in this regard.
As a result, the court decided to keep the case open.
Case Title: Dr Ashwani Kumar vs. Union of India and Ors. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Secretary & Ors.