New Delhi: Taking a serious view of the Centre’s lack of response in coming up with a road map for welfare of widows across the country despite repeated assurances, the Supreme Court on Friday slapped Rs 1 lakh costs on the Centre to be paid in six weeks.
A Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta hearing a batch of petitions for rehabilitation of widows in Vrindavan and other places, told counsel for the Centre “you don’t care about the plight of widows. Please have some concern for them. You do nothing, but you (Centre) say Supreme Court is running the country. You don’t want to work.” Even as the counsel explained the steps taken by the government, the court slapped Rs 1 lakh costs on the Centre. The Bench was upset with the Centre as it failed to come up with a road map for the welfare of widows but wanted more time to file its response.
The National Legal Services Authority and two others had filed petitions highlighting the plight of Vrindavan widows and seeking a direction for their rehabilitation. Initially the court passed orders on Math-ura widows for medical facilities etc. Later, the court expanded the scope to other states as well.
The court had earlier directed the National Commission for Women to visit states and submit a report. Based on the report, the Bench had asked the Centre to convene meeting of all state holders and come with a plan so that court can pass orders accordingly.
