'Specify Steps Taken, Funds Allotted For Construction Of Toilets For Women In Police Stations Across UP’: Allahabad HC Directs State Govt

The bench of Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Gajendra Kumar ordered thus while dealing with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea filed by 6 law students namely Diksha, Kumari Priya, Shalvi Tiwari, Samiksha Singh, Vijay Kumar and Devansh Singh.

The PIL plea essentially seeks a direction to respondents to provide basic amenities such as toiletries, pure drinking water, proper fans, dustbins, washrooms, restrooms etc. in the police stations in the Prayagraj district, in view of the privacy and dignity of women.

However, when the matter came up for hearing before the bench on June 23, the Addl. Chief Standing Counsel informed the Court that for a similar cause of action, another PIL plea is pending before the HC, wherein a status report in the form of an affidavit was filed in March 2021 by the Secretary, Home, Government of UP.

In response to this, the petitioners in the instant PIL plea submitted that in spite of the assurance given by the Government authorities, to date, no substantial progress is reflected and still the State Government has not taken any effective steps for the construction of women toilets in respective police stations across the State.

Given this submission, the Court directed to connect and list the matter along with the record of the pending PIL plea before the appropriate Court on July 17, 2023.

Further, the Under Secretary, Home, Government of UP was directed to file an affidavit indicating therein the progress towards allotment of funds and other necessary steps, which were taken in the matter.

It may be noted that the Allahabad HC, in February 2021, while hearing a PIL filed by certain law students, seeking direction to the Uttar Pradesh Government to ensure the construction of ladies' toilets in each Police Stations in the state, observed thus:

“Life and its consumption include necessary hygiene and sanitation. In the absence of adequate facilities to meet essential human requirements, life cannot be led with dignity.”

On a perusal of the petition, the Court noted that most of the police stations in the State of Uttar Pradesh are not having adequate amenities for female police personnel at their workplace and the conditions at the police stations situated in rural areas are much worse.

Concerned by the same, the Bench had reminded the state authorities of the observations made by the Supreme Court in Virender Gaur & Ors. v. State of Haryana & Ors., (1995) 2 SCC 577. In this case, the Top Court had elucidated the link between the right to life, human dignity and the right to hygiene.

It may be noted that as per a report titled 'Status of Policing in India Report 2019', 20 per cent of policewomen complained of a lack of women’s toilets in police stations (the survey had covered close to 12,000 police personnel across 21 States.).

As per this report (which was released in December 2019), the State of Uttar Pradesh ranked fourth in terms of lack or bad condition of women’s toilets.

Recently, the Supreme Court directed the Madras High Court administration to submit through its Registrar General a detailed report on the issue of the lack of toilet complexes for women lawyers in the Nilgiris Court Complex.

A vacation bench comprising Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Rajesh Bindal noted that while the Registrar General had earlier filed a report in the matter, the said report did not explain in detail in what manner the facilities for women lawyers were being provided for in the new court complex and as to whether there was any shrinkage of such facilities which were earlier available.

The report was submitted by June 11 2023 and the matter is now listed for hearing in the first week of July.

It may be noted that this order was passed in a miscellaneous application filed by the Women Lawyers Association of Nilgiris.

The court took up the application on its own motion, considering the nature of the grievances of the women lawyers of the Nilgiris district projected in a news report.

More recently, the National Commission For Women, acting on a complaint filed by a lawyer, urged the Madras High Court Registrar to take immediate cognizance of the lack of toilets for female lawyers at the Nilgiris Court Complex. The Commission asked the Registrar to communicate the steps taken within three days.

Case title - Diksha And 6 Others vs. State Of U.P. And 4 Others [PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (PIL) No. - 1416 of 2023]

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