tition Civil No 1426 of 1987
Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India
Ms Abha Jain for the Petitioner
MP Jha for the Respondent
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by PATHAK CJ
This writ petition arises upon a letter received from the Yuva Adhivakta Kalyan Samiti Sasaram District Rohtas Bihar
Among other things it is alleged in the letter that the female inmates of the Care Home Patna Bihar are compelled to live in 757 inhuman conditions in an old dilapidated building that they are ill treated provided food which is both insufficient and of poor quality and that no medical attention is afforded to them
On 18 November 1987 this Court issued notice to the Superintendent of the Home the District Magistrate Patna and the State of Bihar and simultaneously ordered the learned District Judge Patna to visit the Home and submit a report on the conditions actually prevailing there in the context of the allegations contained in the letter
The learned District Judge has submitted his report
He states that the Care Home is managed by the Welfare Department of the State Government under the administrative control of the Deputy Director Welfare Patna that although there is provision for a full time Superintendent no full time Superintendent has been appointed and instead the District Welfare officer Smt
MB Verma who is posted at Arrah is in dual charge of the Care Home
The staff includes two whole time matrens two male clerks and two night Guards and recently three Supervisors have been attached to the Home
There are three teachers and one senior Instructress for imparting vocational training
He points out that thirty inmates recently escaped from the Care Home and now three Home Guards have been posted
His report discloses a sorry state of affairs
He points out that the building in which the inmates are housed is a century old dilapidated house rented for the purpose
The building is absolutely uninhabitable and unsafe and during the rainy season the roof leaks almost at every point
Five small damp and dirty rooms with no windows are used to accommodate twenty five inmates while the remaining women have to sleep in an open verandah
Only a few of the women have been provided with blankets and cots
He reports that whereas the capacity of the Care Home is over one hundred the Deputy Superintendent admitted before him that there were only twenty five thin blankets
Most of the inmates were compelled to sleep on the broken floor without even a sheet to cover themselves
There was no woollen clothing at all nor were they provided with soap or oil
The diet provided to them cost Rs5 per day and was hardly adequate to sustain them
As regards toilet facilities he says that there is one municipal tap outside in the open which also was not in proper working order
There was acute scarcity of water
One hand pump had been installed in the previous month
Three dilapidated lavatories existed far away from the main apartment
There was no bathroom or toilet inside the apartment and the inmates had to go out in the night to the distant toilets
The report discloses further that the inmates stated that they were often beaten up in case they complained before the authorities and most of them expressed a desire to be set free to earn their livelihood or to return to their families
Twelve lunatic inmates 758 had been transferred to the Ranchi Mental Asylum and eleven children had been sent to the Bal Bhawan Deoghar
The majority of the inmates were major five of them being deaf and dumb All of them were in protective custody by the order of various judicial and executive magistrates of the State
There was no regular visit by any physician the last visit of a doctor having taken place almost two months before
India is a welfare State governed by a Constitution which holds the pride of place in the hearts of its citizens
It lays special emphasis on the protection and well being of the weaker sections of society and seeks to improve their economic and social status on the basis of constitutional guarantees spelled out in its provisions
It shows a particular regard for women and children and notwithstanding the pervasive ethos of the doctrine of equality it contemplates special provision being made for them by law
This is only to be expected when an enlightened constitutional system takes charge of the political and socio economic governance of a society which has for centuries witnessed the relegation of women to a place far below their due
We live in an age when this Court has demonstrated while interpreting Article 21 of the Constitution that every person is entitled to a quality of life consistent with his human personality
The right to live with human dignity is the fundamental right of every Indian citizen
so in the discharge of its responsibilities to the people the State recognises the need for maintaining establishments for the care of those unfortunates both women and children who are the castaways of an imperfect social order and for whom therefore of necessary provision must be made for their protection and welfare
Both common humanity and considerations of law and order require the State to do so
To abide by the constitutional standards recognised by well accepted principle it is incumbent upon the State when assigning women and children to these establishments euphemistically described as Care Home to provide at least the minimum conditions ensuring human dignity
What we see before us in the instant case is a crowded hovel in which a large number of human beings have been thrown together compelled to subsist in conditions of animal survival conditions which blatantly deny their basic humanity
How else shall we describe an establishment where women are detained in miserable conditions compelling most of them to sleep on broken floors in damp and dank conditions with no covering whatever to protect them from the chill wind and near freezing temperatures of the north Indian winter who are fed a wretched health denying diet are denied the basic amenities of convenient toilets and a private bathing place who 759 if they complain are beaten up and although attacked by disease and illness are unable to find timely medical relief
It is clear that the Welfare Department of the State Government of Bihar views its responsibilities in regard to these women with a lightness which ill befits its existence and the public funds appropriated to it
The name of Care Home given to these establishments is an ironic misnomer
The primitive conditions in which the inmates are compelled to live shock the conscience
The counter affidavit filed on behalf of the Welfare Department of the State Government seeks to minimise and gloss over the deplorable conditions faced by the inmates and the presence of many of the facilities alleged to exist cannot be accepted in the face of the report of the learned District Judge
The affidavit sworn by the Assistant Director Social Welfare does not disclose that he visited the home personally
The facts seem to have been supplied to him by others
The report of the learned District Judge on the contrary is the report of an objective neutral observer who took the trouble of visiting the place himself
We have every reason to prefer the facts set out in his report
In the circumstances we think it necessary to direct the State Government to provide suitable alternative accommodation expeditiously for housing the inmates of the present Care Home
It is said that the State Government has given two acres of land near the Ganga bridge at Patna to the Welfare Department for putting up a complex as a Care Home and for shifting to it such inmates as are also housed in a Government building
It is stated that the Welfare Department has sanctioned 3110 lakhs for establising a Care Home in the building and that Rs 12 lakhs have been allocated for constructing the building
We do not know how long it will take for the new building to be ready
It is necessary meanwhile to put the existing building in which the inmates are presently housed into proper order immediately and for that purpose to renovate the building and provide sufficient amenities by way of living rooms bathrooms and toilets within the building and also to provide adequate water and electricity
A suitable range of furniture including Cots must be provided at once and an adequate number of blankets and sheets besides clothing must be supplied to the inmates
We note that the Welfare Department has stated that the allowance of the inmates is being increased from Rs 150 per month to Rs 200 per month and that besides they will be provided such amenities as Soap oil and other toilet requisites
The Welfare Department of the State Government will take immediate steps to comply with the directions we have framed for the welfare of the 760 inmates of the Care Home
We direct the Welfare Department further to appoint a full time Superintendent to take care of the Home and to ensure that a Doctor visits the Home daily
We are constrained to note also that the inmates have been committed to the care of this Home under orders issued by various Courts in Bihar or by different Executive authorities
The Welfare Department will submit a report within one month from today detailing the particulars of these cases and mentioning the judicial or executive authority concerned to the High Court and the High Court will thereupon issue necessary instructions to the pertinent District authority for taking appropriate steps in the different cases for their early disposal
With these directions we dispose of this Writ Petition
We make it clear however that in the event of no or insufficient compliance being made with this order we will have no hesitation in reopening the case for such further steps as may be considered necessary for enforcing this order
HLC Petition disposed of


Summary:
The Kothari Commission appointed by the Government of India to examine the conditions of service of teachers with the object of improving the standards of education in the country recommended inter alia that the scales of pay of school teachers belonging to the same category but working under different managements such as Government local bodies or private organisations should be the same and falling in line with other States the State of Haryana decided to implement the same with effect from 1 December 1967
As the deficit between the original grades and the revised grades was found too burdensome for the managements of the aided schools to bear the State decided to meet the increased expenditure entirely in regard to Pay and Dearness Allowance
The State Government followed the principle of parity between the teachers working in aided schools and Government schools until 1979
In 1979 the pay scale of teachers in Government schools was revised by the State after the report of the Pay Commission but in the case of the teachers of aided schools the revision was effected two years later
The appellants and the writ petitioners who were teachers employed in various recognised aided private schools alleged that the salary and other emoluments such as Dearness Allowance House Rent Allowance City Compensatory Allowance Medical Reimbursement Gratuity etc paid to them had fallen far behind the emoluments paid to the teachers in Government schools and this Court should interfere in order to remove such discrimination since the constitutional responsibility of providing education in schools devolved on the Government and it exercised deep and pervasive control over the running of aided schools
Disposing of the appeal and petitions  HELD There is general agreement between the parties that there is no reason for discrimination between the teachers employed in aided 683 schools and those employed in Government schools far as the salaries and Additional Dearness Allowances are concerned
The State Government has expressed its readiness to reimburse the payment of ten instalments of the Additional Dearness Allowance but not the twenty five Additional Dearness Allowance instalments released after 1 April 1981
In our opinion the teachers of aided schools must be paid the same pay scale and Dearness Allowance as teachers in Government schools for the entire period claimed by the petitioners and that the expenditure on that account should be apportioned between the State and the Management in the same proportion in which they share the burden of the existing emoluments of the teachers
685B C E G The State Government will also take up with the managements of the aided schools the question of bringing about Party between the teachers of aided schools and the teachers of Government schools so that 9 scheme for payment may be evolved after having regard to the different allowances claimed by the petitioners
686C