COVID-19: With schools shut and mid-day meals unavailable to children, SC issues notice to states, UTs

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre and all states to come out with a uniform policy to ensure that in the efforts to prevent spread of COVID-19, the schemes for providing nutritional food to the children and nursing and lactating mothers were not adversely affected.

"While dealing with one crisis, the situation may not lead to creation of another crisis," it cautioned.

The top court registered a Suo Motu case 'regarding closure of mid-day meal scheme' after having noted that all the states have directed for closure of their schools and some of the states of Anganwadi kendras as well.

This comes just days after the apex court took up a Suo Motu matter to Chech spread of COVID-19 inside the prisons across the country.

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On Wednesday, a bench of Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant said due to shutdown of the schools and the Anganwadis, the children as well as the lactating and nursing mothers would be deprived of the nutritional food.

In some districts, though the schools and Anganwadis have been shut down, the parents have been told to pick up nutritional food for their children from such centres, the court noted.

"Non-supply of nutritional food to the children as well as lactating and nursing mothers may lead to large-scale mal-nourishment. Particularly, those in rural as well as tribal area are prone to such mal-nourishment. It may affect their immunity system. Such children and lactating and nursing mothers would be more prone to catch the infection," the bench said.

The court appointed senior advocate Sanjay Hegde as amicus curiae to assist in the matter.

The bench issued a notice to the Secretary, Union Ministry of Women and Child Development as well as Chief Secretaries of all the states and the Union Territories seeking their response within a period of one week.

The court put the matter for further consideration on March 27.