Budhadev Karmaskar vs State of West Bengal

Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2022 Supreme(SC) 1971

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
L. Nageswara Rao, B.R. Gavai, JJ.
Budhadev Karmaskar - Appellant
Versus
The State Of West Bengal & Ors. - Respondents
Criminal Appeal No(s).135/2010
Decided On : 10-01-2022

Advocates Appeared:
For Amicus Curie : Mr. Jayant Bhushan, Sr. Adv, Mr. Pijush K. Roy, Adv, Ms. Kakali Roy, Adv, Mr. Abhishek Kaushik, Adv
For the Appellant : Mr Anand Grover, Sr Adv, Ms Tripti Tandon, Adv, Ms Savita Singh, AOR, Mr Ashok Kumar Singh, Adv, Jail Petition, AOR, Mr. D. Mahesh Babu, AOR, Mr. Ketan Paul, Adv, Ms. Tushar Bhushan, Adv, Mr. Amartya Bhushan, Adv, Ms. Kakali Roy, Adv., Ms. Taruna Ardhendumauli Prasad, AOR, Mr. Parth Awasthi, Adv, Ms. Deepika Gupta, Adv
For the Respondent: Mr. R.S. Suri, ASG, Mr. Mohd. Akhil, Adv., Ms. Sunita Sharma, Adv., Mr. Digvijay Dam,Adv., Mr. Vikas Bansal, Adv., Mr. Sanjay Kumar Tyagi, Adv., Mr. B. V. Balaram Das, AOR, Mr. Gurmeet Singh Makker, AOR, Mr. Raj Bahadur Yadav,AOR, Mrs. Anil Katiyar, AOR, Mr Anand Grover, Sr. Adv., Ms Tripti Tandon, Adv., Ms Savita Singh, AOR, Mr. Ashok Kumar Singh, Adv., Mr. K.M.Nataraj, ASG, Mr. Sanjay Kr.Tyagi, Adv, Mr. Raj Bahadur Yadav, Adv, Ms. Shradha Deshmukh, Adv, Mr. Merusagar Samantaray, Adv, Mr. Sharath Nambiar, Adv, Mr. Raghav Sharma, Adv, Mr. Jayant K.Sud, Asg, Mohd. Akhil, Adv, Mr. Sanjay Kr.Tyagi, Adv, Mr. Sunita Sharma, Adv, Mr. O.P.Shukla, Adv, Mr. K. M. NATARAJ, ASG, Mr. Sanjay Jain, ASG, Mr. Raj Bahadur Yadav, AOR, Mr. Merusagar Samantaray, Adv., Mr. Sanjay Kumar Tyagi, Adv., Ms. Shraddha Deshmukh, Adv., Mr. Sharath Narayan Nambiar, Adv., Mr. Raghav Sharma, Adv., Mr. Jayant K. Sud, ASG, Mr. Gurmeet Singh Makker, AOR, Mohd. Akhil, Adv, Mr. Sanjay Kr. Tyagi, Adv, Ms. Sunita Sharma, Adv, Ms. Sakshi Kakkar, Adv, Mr. Vikas Bansal, Adv, Mr. Digvijay Dam, Adv, Mr. B.K.Satija, Adv, Mr. Amit Sharma, Adv, Ms. Swarupama Chatu, Adv, Mr. Saurabh Trivedi, AOR, Mr. D. Mahesh Babu, AOR, Dr. Joseph Aristotle S., AOR, M/S. Corporate Law Group, AOR, Mrs. Anil Katiyar, AOR, Mr. Sunil Fernandes, AOR, Ms. Jaspreet Gogia, AOR, Ms. Asha Gopalan Nair, AOR, Mr. Anuvrat Sharma, AOR, Mr. Anil K. Jha, AOR, Mr. B. V. Balaram Das, AOR, Mr. Irshad Ahmad, AOR, Mr. Jatinder Kumar Bhatia, AOR, Mr. Dharmendra Kumar Sinha, AOR, Ms. G. Indira, AOR, Mr. Rohit Kumar Singh, AOR, Mr. Kamal Mohan Gupta, AOR, Mr. Radha Shyam Jena, AOR, Mr. S.. Udaya Kumar Sagar, AOR, Ms. A. Subhashini, AOR, Mr. Anil Shrivastav, AOR, Mr. Vijay Pal, Adv, Mr. Mahendra Kumar, Adv, Mr. Deepankar, Adv, Ms. Kajal Kumari, Adv, Mr. Kundan Lal, Adv, M/S. Plr Chambers And Co., AOR, Mr. Suhaan Mukerji, Adv, Mr. Vishal Prasad, Adv, Mr. Nikhil Parikshith, Adv, Mr. Abhishek Manchanda, Adv, Mr. Sayandeep Pahari, Adv., M/S. Arputham Aruna And Co, AOR, Ms. Diksha Rai, AOR, Mr. P. V. Dinesh, AOR, Ms. Kiran Bhardwaj, AOR, Ms. Aswathi M.k., AOR, Mr. Rameshwar Prasad Goyal, AOR, Ms. Hemantika Wahi, AOR, Ms. Savita Singh, AOR, Ms. Aparna Bhat, AOR, Ms. Liz Mathew, AOR, Mr. Gopal Singh, AOR, Mr. Ashok Kumar Singh, AOR, Mr. C. K. Sasi, AOR, Mr. Garvesh Kabra, AOR, Mr. Sanjay Kumar Visen, AOR, Mr. M. T. George, AOR, Mr. Kuldip Singh, AOR, Mrs. Swarupama Chaturvedi, AOR, Mr. Balaji Srinivasan, AOR, Mr. Abhay Pratap Singh, AOR, Mr. Sumeer Sodhi, AOR, Ms. Deepanwita Priyanka, AOR, Ms. Tulika Mukherjee, AOR, Ms. Astha Sharma, AOR, Mr. Raj Bahadur Yadav, AOR, Mr. Shubhranshu Padhi, AOR, Mr. Shuvodeep Roy, AOR, Mr. Jogy Scaria, AOR, Mr. Abhinav Mukerji, AOR, Mr. M. Yogesh Kanna, AOR, Mr. Gurmeet Singh Makker, AOR, Mr. Ravi Prakash Mehrotra, Sr. Adv., Mr. Sachin Patil, AOR, Mr. Aravindh S., AOR, Mr. Vinod Sharma, AOR, Mr. Nirnimesh Dube, AOR, Mr. Sandeep Kumar Jha, AOR, Mr. Tanmaya Agarwal, AOR, Mr. Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar, AOR, Mr. Avijit Mani Tripathi, AOR, Ms. K. Enatoli Sema, AOR, Mr. Sunny Choudhary, AOR, Mr. Satish Pandey, AOR, Mr. Narendra Kumar, AOR, Mr. Ashok Kumar Singh, AOR, Mr. Shantwanu Singh, Adv, Ms. Pragya Singh, Adv, Mr. Akshay Singh, Adv, Mr. Zoheb Hossain, AOR, Ms. Tulika Gupta, Adv
For the State of Assam : Ms. Diksha Rai, AOR (Standing Counsel), Ms. Palak Mahajan, Adv., Mr. Ankit Agarwal, Adv., Ms. Ragini Pandey, Adv.
For the State of Punjab : Ms. Jaspreet Gogia, AOR, Mr. Karanvir Gogia, Adv., Ms. Mandakini Singh, Adv, Ms. Shivangi Singhal, Adv, Ms. Varnika Gupta, Adv, Ms. Ashima Mandla, Adv
For the State of Uttarakhand : Mr. Saurabh Trivedi, AOR, Mr. Tanmaya Agarwal, Adv., Mr. Jatinder Kumar Bhatia, AOR, Mr. Ashutosh Sharma, Adv
For the State of T.N. : Mr. Yogesh Kanna,AOR., Mr. Rajarajeswaran Adv., Mr. D. Mahesh Babu, AOR, M/S.Corporate Law Group, AOR, Dr. Joseph Aristotle S., AoR., Ms. Preeti Singh, Adv., Ms. Nupur Sharma, Adv., Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Mahara, Adv.
For the Govt. of Puducherry : Mr. V. G. Pragasam, AOR, Ms. S. Prabhusubramanian, Adv., Ms. Asha Gopalan Nair, AOR, Mr. Anuvrat Sharma, AOR, Mr. Sunil Fernandes, AOR
For the UT of A&N Admn.: Mr. K.V. Jagdishvaran, Adv., Ms. G. Indira, AOR, Ms.Habilila Nana,Adv
For the State of W.B.: Mr. R.S. Suri, ASG, Ms. Sunita Sharma, Adv, Mr. Vikas Bansal, Adv, Mr. Digvijay Dam, Adv, Mr. B.K. Satija, Adv, Mr. G.S. Makker, Adv, Mr. Ravi Prakash Mehrotra, Sr. Adv, Mr. Jogy Scaria, AOR, Mr. Suhaan Mukerji, Adv., Ms. Liz Mathew,Adv., Mr. Vishal Prasad, Adv., Mr. Nikhil Parikshith, Adv, Mr. Abhishek Manchanda,Adv., Mr. Sayandeep Pahari, Adv., M/s. PLR Chambers And Co., AOR, Mr. Aravindh.S., AOR, Mr. C.Rubavathi, Adv, Mrs. K. Enatoli Sema, Adv, Mr. Amit Kumar Singh, Adv, Ms. Chubalemla Chang, Adv, Ms. Jyoti Mendiratta, AOR, Mr. Anil Kumar, Adv Mr. Kamal Mohan Gupta, AOR
For the State of Rajasthan : Dr. Manish Singhvi, Sr.Adv., Mr. Sandeep Kumar Jha, AOR, Mr. Ashok Kumar Singh, AOR, Mr. Vikram Jain, Adv., Ms. Pragya Singh, Adv., Mr. Shantwanu Singh, Adv., Mr. Akshay Singh, Adv, MR. Arpit Parkash, Adv
For the State of Maharashtra : Mr. Sachin Patil Adv., Mr. Rahul Chitnis Adv., Mr. Geo Joseph Adv.
For the State of Telengana : Mr. S.Udaya Kumar Sagar, AOR, Ms. Sweena Nair, Adv.
For the State of Nagaland : Mrs. K. Enatoli Sema, Adv., Mr. Amit Kumar Singh, Adv., Mr. Irshad Ahmad, AOR, Mr. Anil K. Jha, AOR, Mr. Rohit Kumar Singh, AOR, Mr. Kamal Mohan Gupta, AOR, Mr. Dharmendra Kumar Sinha, AOR, Ms. A. Subhashini, AOR
For the State of A.P. : For the Mr. Anil Shrivastav, AOR (AAG)
For the State of Bihar : Ms. Niranjana Singh, AOR, Mr. Abhinav Mukerji, AOR, Mrs. Bihu Sharma, Adv., Ms. Pratishtha Vij, Adv., Mr. Akshay C. Shrivastava, Adv.
For the State of Jharkhand : Mr. Tapesh Kumar Singh, AAG, Mr. Kumar Anurag Singh, Additional Standing, Counsel, Ms. Tulika Mukherjee, AOR, Ms. Aastha Shrestha, Adv, Ms. Prerna Singh, Adv., Mr. Aditya Kumar, Adv., Mr. Abhay Pratap Singh, AOR, Mr. Radha Shyam Jena, AOR, Mr. P. V. Dinesh, AOR, Ms. Kiran Bhardwaj, AOR
For the State of Chhatisgarh : Dr. Rajesh Pandey, Adv., Ms. Aswathi M.K., AOR
For the State of Karnataka : Mr. Shubhanshu Padhi, Adv., Mr. Ashish Yadav, Adv., Mr. Rakshit Jain, Adv, Mr. Vishal Banshal, Adv
For the State of Kerala :Mr. C. K. Sasi, AOR, Mr. Aniruddha P. Mayee, AOR Mr. Abdullah Naseeh, Adv, Ms. Meena K.P, Advocate
For the State of Gujarat : Ms. Deepanwita Priyanka, AOR, Ms. Archana Pathak Dave, Adv.
For the State of Manipur : Mr. Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar, Adv.,Mr. Karun Sharma, Adv., Ms. Anupama Ngangom, Adv
For the State of U.P. : Ms. Garima Prashad, AOR Mr. Aditya Kumar Dubey, Adv. Mr. Tanmaya Agarwal, AOR Mr. Wrick Chatterjee, Adv.
For the State of Bihar : Mr. Abhinav Mukerji, AOR Mrs. Bihu Sharma, Adv. Ms. Pratishtha Vij, Adv. Mr. Akshay C. Shrivastava, Adv. Mr. Gopal Singh, AOR Mr. Sahil Raveen, Adv. M/S. Arputham Aruna And Co, AOR Mr. Rameshwar Prasad Goyal, AOR Ms. Hemantika Wahi, AOR Mr. Garvesh Kabra, AOR Mr. Chanchal Kumar Ganguli, AOR Ms. Aparna Bhat, AOR Ms. Liz Mathew, AOR Mr. Sanjay Kumar Visen, AOR
For the State of M.P. : Mrs. Swarupama Chaturvedi, AOR Mr. Sunny Choudhary, AOR Ms. Neha Rai, Adv. Mr. Balaji Srinivasan, AOR Mr. M. T. George, AOR Mr. Kuldip Singh, AOR Mr. Joseph Aristotle S., AOR
For the State of Mizoram : Mr. Siddhesh Kotwal, Adv. Ms. Ana Upadhyay, Adv. Ms. Astha Sharma, AOR Ms.Manya Hasija,Adv Ms. Pragya Barsaiyan, Adv Mr. Akash Singh, Adv
For the State of H.P. : Mr. Vikas Mahajan, AAG Mr. Vinod Sharma, Adv. Mr. Anil Kumar, Adv. Mr. Aakash Varma, Adv.
For the State of Sikkim : Mr. Raghvendra Kumar, Standing Counsel, Mr. Anand Kumar Dubey, Adv., Mr. Narendra Kumar, AOR, Dr. Monika Gusain, AOR, Mr. Mahfooz A. Nazki, AOR, Mr. Nishant Verma, Adv, Mr. Rajiv Kumar Sinha, Adv, Mr. Simanta Kumar, Adv
For the U.T. of J&K : Ms. Shashi Juneja, Adv., Mr. Satish Pandey, AOR
For the State of Tripura : Mr. Shuvodeep Roy, AOR., Mr. Kabir Shankar Bose, Adv., Mr. Rahul Raj Mishra, Adv., Mr. Ishaan Borthakur, Adv.
For the State Of Meghalaya : Mr. Avijit Mani Tripathi, AOR,, Ms. Tarini K. Nayak, Adv., Mr. Chirag M. Shroff, Adv, Ms. Sanjana Nangia, Adv., Ms. Abhilasha Bharti, Adv., Mr. Kynpham V. Kharlyngdoh, Adv., Mr. P.S. Negi, Adv., Mr. T.K. Nayak, Adv.
For the State of Andhra Pradesh : Mr. Mahfooz A. Nazki, AOR, Mr. Polanki Gowtham, Adv, Mr. Shaik Mohamad Haneef, Adv, Mr. T. Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy, Adv, Mr. K.V.Girish Chowdary, Adv, Ms. Rajeswari Mukherjee, Adv
For the State of Uttarakhand : Mr. Jatinder Kumar Bhatiya, AOR, Mr. Tanmay Agarwal, Adv
For the State of Haryana : Dr. Monika Gusain, AOR, Mr. Sanjay Kumar Visen, AOR, Mr. Bhanwar Jadon, Adv, Ms. Adira A Nair, Adv, Mr. Sanjeev Prakash Upadhaya, Adv, UT of Chandigarh Mr. Manpreet S. Doabia, Adv, Mrs. Kiran Bhardwaj, AOR
For the State of Chattisgarh :Mr. S.C. Verma, Sr. Adv./Advocate General, Mr. Sumeer Sodhi, AOR., Mr. Anvit Seemansh, Adv.
For the State of Maharashtra : Mr. Sachin Patil, AOR., Mr. Rahul Chitnis, Adv., Mr. Aaditya A. Pande, Adv., Mr. Geo Joseph, Adv., Ms. Shwetal Shepal, Adv
For the State of Madhya Pradesh : Mr.Veer Vikrant Singh, Dy. AG, Mr. Sunny Choudhary (AOR), Mr. Alok Pandey, Adv.

Headnote:(A) Social Welfare Legislation - Directions to State Governments/Union Territories regarding issuance of ration cards and voter ID cards to sex workers - The Court ordered immediate issuance based on a verified list by NACO and allowed distribution of dry ration without proof of residence (Paras 1-5).

(B) Community-Based Organizations recognized as valid sources for age and identity verification of sex workers, ensuring inclusion for ration and voter ID cards (Paras 6-11).

(C) Confidentiality of information relating to sex workers must be maintained by State authorities (Para 12).

Facts of the case:
The appellant highlighted that a significant number of sex workers were excluded from existing lists and not receiving necessary support. The Court's ongoing monitoring sought to ensure compliance by the States in issuing necessary documentation (Paras 6-9).

Findings of Court:
The Court emphasized timely issuance of ration and voter cards to all sex workers and the necessity of status reports from all States (Paras 5, 10).

Issues: The Court addressed whether Community-Based Organizations could effectively contribute to the recognition of sex workers for state benefits.

Ratio Decidendi: The Court reaffirmed its stance on the requirement for immediate support and documentation for sex workers, emphasizing the need for equitable treatment and thorough verification (Paras 7-11).

Result: The State Governments/Union Territories were directed to fulfill these obligations and report accordingly.

Table of Content
1. implementation of ration distribution to sex workers. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4)
2. court's directives to ensure access and confidentiality. (Para 5 , 10 , 11 , 12)
3. challenges in accessing ration/voter cards for sex workers. (Para 6 , 7 , 9)
4. next hearing date set. (Para 13)

ORDER :

1. On 14.12.2021, this Court directed the State Governments/Union Territories, to issue ration cards/voter identity cards immediately to sex workers on the basis of the list maintained by NACO. The authorities were permitted to take assistance of State AIDS Control Societies, finalizing the list of Sex workers after verifying the information provided to them by Community Based Organisations. The State Governments/Union Territories were directed to submit a Status Report relating to the issuance of ration cards and Voter Cards. In the meanwhile, the State Governments/Union Territories were directed to continue distribution of dry ration to sex workers without insisting on ration cards and any other proof of residence.

2. Status Reports have been filed by some States. Broadly, a large number of sex workers have ration cards. The State Governments/Union Territories have informed this Court that the others who do not have rations cards are being given dry ration without insisting on proof of residence. Some States have not filed the Status Report. The counsel appearing for those States, who have not filed the Status Report, submitted on instructions that the issuance of ration cards/voter cards is in process and the directions issued by this Court on 14.12.2021 are being implemented.

3. The manner of distribution of dry ration without issuance of ration cards is slightly likely different in the States of Delhi and Chandigarh. We are informed by the learned counsel appearing for the State of Delhi, that an SOP has been issued by the Government to the effect that ration will be distributed at 86 centres without insisting on the proof of residence.

4. In so far as the Chandigarh is concerned, we are informed by the learned counsel, that money was being transferred to the accounts of those sex workers who have been identified by NACO.

5. The State Governments/Union Territories who have not filed a Status Report pursuant to the order passed by this Court on 14.12.2021 are directed to do so within a period of two weeks from today. In the meanwhile, the State Governments/Union Territories are directed to complete the process of issuance of ration cards/voter cards to the sex workers.

6. Mr. Anand Grover, learned senior counsel appearing for the applicant, submitted that a large number of sex workers are left out from the lists that are available with NACO. According to the scheme of NACO, a minimum of 1000 sex workers should be there in a community on the basis of which inclusion will be made in the list prepared by NACO. In case, a community is less than 1000 sex workers, the members of such community will not find their names in the list prepared by NACO. He further submitted that in spite of the orders passed by this Court, dry ration is only being provided intermittently by the State governments to sex workers. He also submitted that all sex workers, irrespective of their gender, should be eligible for issuance of ration cards/voter cards as directed by this Court earlier.

7. Mr.Jayant Bhushan, learned senior counsel/ (A.C) assisted by Mr. Pijush Kanti Roy, stated that providing ration to the sex workers should not be stopped by the State Governments/Union Territories for any reason whatsoever. Referring to the order passed by this Court on 14.12.2021, Mr. Bhushan stated that this Court made it clear that information provided by Community Based Organisations shall be taken into account for preparation of the list of sex workers who would be entitled for issuance of ration cards. With reference to the affidavit filed on behalf of the UIDAI for issuance of Aadhar Cards to the sex workers, learned Amicus Curiae suggested that the reality is that the s

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