National policy on menstrual hygiene: Supreme Court warns states, UTs of action if they fail to submit response

The Supreme Court on Monday cautioned state governments that the court would recourse to the “coercive arm of law” if they failed to submit their response to the Centre by August 31 on forming a uniform national policy on menstrual hygiene for girls studying in schools.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, submitted before a bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud that only four state governments—Haryana, Delhi, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh—had filed their response so far.

The bench, also comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, subsequently directed state governments and Union Territories which have not brought on record their responses, to submit it by August 31.

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The bench said the states which are in default are placed on notice. “Should there be any further default, this court will be constrained to take recourse to the coercive arm of law,” the bench added.

Hearing a plea by Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Jaya Thakur, the court said that a copy of its order should be made available to the chief secretaries of the remaining states for compliance and fixed the matter for further hearing in the second week of November.

The court had said that the issue is of immense important as it had in April this year asked the Centre to formulate a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and a national model to be adopted by all states and UTs for managing menstrual hygiene of girls studying in schools.

The plea sought a direction to state governments and the Central government to ensure the provision of free sanitary pads to every female child studying in Classes 6 to 12 and separate toilets for females in all government aided and residential schools.