Ration Cards Cancellation Case:
The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to respond to a plea related to the cancellation of over three-crore ration cards for not linking them to Aadhaar.
- Also, the SC has sought a report on the implementation of the grievances redressal mechanism. It is contained in Sections 14, 15, and 16 of the National Food Security Act, 2013.
- A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court which said that such cancellations had led to starvation deaths across the country.
- Right to food, which the ration card symbolized, cannot be curbed or canceled because of lack of Aadhaar, says the petitioner.
- The Court said the issue is concerning because the government has cancelled cards of even tribal people and the poor, solely because they could not be biometrically linked with Aadhaar.
- The Union of India casually gives an explanation that these cancelled cards were bogus.
- The real reason is that the technological system based on iris identification, thumbprints, non-possession of Aadhaar, non-functioning of the Internet in rural and remote areas, etc., led to largescale cancellation of ration cards, without notice to the family concerned.
Ration Cards:
- Ration card is an official document issued by state governments in India to households.
- The Household should be eligible to purchase subsidized food grain under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
- They also serve as a common form of identification for many Indians.
- Under the NFSA, all state governments have to identify eligible households under the Public Distribution System and provide them with ration cards.
