Conditions Of Sex Workers In Covid- Gauhati HC Directs DLSA To Provide Immediate Rations To Identified Sex Workers, Family Members Struggling In Covid

The Gauhati High Court on Friday directed the District Legal Services Authority, Cachar to provide immediate ration to sex workers and their family members identified by Deputy Commissioner of the District.

A division bench comprising of Chief Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice MR Pathak also directed the State Government to apprise the Court about how National AIDS Control Organization through Assam State AIDS Control Society will give relief to sex workers in Assam and how will they be identified for the same.

The development came after Adv. D Ghosh for the petitioner submitted before the Court that in Cachar district, some of the sex workers and their family members were particularly struggling in the present Covid situation and that an immediate relief must be provided to them in the form of ration and other items of daily need.

"We hereby pass an interim mandamus directing the Deputy Commissioner, Cachar as well as the Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Cachar to immediately provide ration to these families. We have been informed that Deputy Commissioner, Cachar has already identified these sex workers and their families, since a project is being run under the Deputy Commissioner, by the National AIDS Control Organization. Since it is an urgent situation, let the above ration be provided to them today itself." The bench directed.

An impleadment application was moved in the matter by the petitioner for impleading the Union of India, through the Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development as well as National AIDS Control Organization, represented by Secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India as Respondents.

Allowing the impleadment application, the Bench ordered thus:

"Mr. R.K.D. Choudhury shall apprise this Court as to how the National AIDS Control Organization through the Assam State AIDS Control Society will give relief to the sex workers in Assam during the present pandemic, and how will the sex workers be identified."

The bench was dealing with a PIL regarding the condition of sex workers in Assam who were on the verge of starvation, considering the strange and difficult times of the second COVID-19 wave.

Title: SRI DEBAJIT GUPTA V. STATE OF ASSAM & ORS.

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