Night shelters should stay till cold abates: Apex court
By IANSWednesday, December 15, 2010
NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Wednesday directed state governments not to remove any night shelters for the homeless till the biting cold abates.
The court said the night shelters should be retained till the end of February.
The apex court bench of Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Deepak Verma said the state governments could shift the night shelters to an alternative place under compelling circumstances.
The court said it hoped that media reports of two night shelters having been demolished in Delhi were not true.
The court orders came during the hearing on a suit seeking adequate number of night shelters for the urban homeless during the winter season.
The court also reviewed the steps taken by state governments to provide night shelters to the homeless.
In its earlier order, the court directed state governments to provide all facilities to the poor using night shelters.
The direction came in the wake of the report by apex court commissioner N.C. Saxena and special commissioner Harsh Mader pointing to the denial of the right to food and shelter to people living on the streets of Delhi.
The issue will come up for hearing Thursday.
