PANAJI: A division bench of the High Court of Bombay at Goa comprising Justice FM Reis and Justice Nutan Sardessai, while taking cognizance of the report published in ‘The Navhind Times’ titled ‘Inmates living in unhygienic conditions at protective home,’ observed that it is the duty of the concerned departments to ensure that such inmates in protective homes are provided with the basic necessities and are not deprived of their basic needs. The deprivation in life suffered by such inmates cannot lead to mean that the basic facilities are not provided at the protective homes.
The division bench said that in local newspaper ‘The Navhind Times’ dated August 30, 2016, “we have noted an article under the caption ‘Inmates living in unhygienic conditions at protective home.’ On going through the said article, we find that the protective homes are not providing the essential requirements and necessities to the inmates of such homes.”
The division bench has directed the registry to register a suo motu writ petition and issue notice to the state government through its chief secretary and the social welfare department, state of Goa, returnable on September 13, 2016, and file their affidavit explaining the measures intended to be taken to eradicate the deprivation referred to in the said article.
“The departments of the government are duty bound to ensure that such basic amenities and facilities are made available to such inmates. The concerned authorities should ensure that the protective homes are duly provided with welfare measures and are in a hygienic environment. There are statements in the said article that basic requirements including purified drinking water, clothes, etc are not adequately provided to them,” the High Court division bench observed.