Ration card can’t be considered address proof: HC

The Delhi high court has said that a ration card is issued exclusively for obtaining essential commodities under the public distribution system (PDS) and it cannot be considered proof of address or residence.

Justice Chandra Dhari Singh, while dealing with petitions by erstwhile residents of Kathputli Colony seeking an alternative accommodation under the rehabilitation scheme following the re-development of the area, held that the requirement of a ration card as a mandatory document to claim benefit under the scheme was arbitrary and illegal.

In a recent order, the court said, “As per the definition of ‘ration card,’ the intent of issuing the same is that it aims to distribute the essential food items by way of fair price shops. Therefore, it does not amount to becoming an identity proof of residence for any ration card holder.”

The court observed, “There is no mechanism set up by the authority issuing ration cards to ensure that the holder of the ration card is staying at the address mentioned in the ration card…The aim of the ration card is to ensure that the citizens of this country are provided with food grains at a reasonable price. Hence, it is not a reliable source of proof of address since the scope is limited to the distribution of food items by way of the public distribution system.”

The petitioners contended that authorities breached their trust and played fraud on Kathputli Colony slum dwellers by suddenly changing the eligibility criteria in 2015 after the demolition of the entire colony as they wrongly mandated the requirement of a separate ration card for the firstfloor dwellers of jhuggi.

The court noted that a gazette notification issued by the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution in 2015 itself disallowed the use of ration cards as a document of identity or proof of residence, and in Delhi.