Failure of State to provide basic shelter to homeless persons is violative of Right to Life under Article 21: Karnataka High Court

Failure of the State government to provide basic shelter to homeless persons is a violation of the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, the Karnataka High Court said on Tuesday. .A Division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Suraj Govindaraj further noted that if poor homeless people are left without shelter, it impinges upon their right to live a dignified life which is a facet of Article 21. “State must be conscious of the fact that its failure to provide basic shelter to urban homeless may amount to violation of Right to Life guaranteed by Article 21 of Constitution of India. If poor homeless in the cities are without shelter, it is a violation of their Right to live a dignified life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” the Court said. .The Bench, therefore, directed the State government to place on record the outcome of the survey of urban homeless carried out in the State. If the survey is complete, the government will have to take appropriate decision on the number of shelters required in the State, added the Court. .The Court was hearing a petition by NGO, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) seeking implementation of State government order dated May 29, 2014 with regard to urban homeless shelters.The counsel for the petitioner, Mohammed Afeef submitted that there are around 40 functional community centres in Karnataka with a capacity of 50-60 persons each.The operational guidelines issued by the Central government mandate that the centres should accommodate at least 100 persons each, it was pointed out. The petitioner also submitted that there are no special centres dedicated for children, disabled or transgenders persons as mandated under the scheme..The Court in its order noted that out of the 64 shelters set up in the State, only 47 are functional..“We are dealing with the issue of providing shelters to urban homeless, the second issue with which we are concerned now is making provision for night shelters. State government has filed a statement of objections. The statement of objections is silent on the survey of urban homeless in the state of Karnataka.......As per the list submitted to the court of the 64 shelters set up in the state, only 47 are functional. The capacity of functional centers in the city (Bengaluru) is not more than 300.”.During the hearing, the bench also went through an order passed by the Supreme Court in the case of PUCL v. Union of India (Writ Petition No 196/2001). .In the said case, the State of Karnataka had submitted before the Supreme Court that it would conduct a comprehensive survey to identify urban homeless. It was also submitted that the survey would be completed in six months subsequent to which, necessary action will be taken to provide basic facilities so that urban homeless are in position to enjoy their fundamental right to lead a life with dignity. .Noting non-compliance with the said undertaking, the High Court directed the State government to place on record all data regarding the setting up of night shelters.“As stated earlier no material is placed on record to show how many night shelters set up in the state and if the same are set up, the details of the facilities there. We direct the state government to place on record all data regarding setting up of night shelters.”.The Court also directed the government to respond to the survey report carried out by the petitioner contains a social audit of certain shelters in the city..Further, the Court directed the petitioner to submit the report of any further survey of shelters for the homeless, carried out by it. .The matter will be next heard on May 26.