The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned to January 15, 2026, its hearing of the Bengal government’s plea related to its Duare Ration scheme.
The Bengal government had moved the apex court to challenge Calcutta High Court judgment of September 28, 2022, which held that the scheme aimed at delivering foodgrains to people’s doorsteps violated the National Food Security Act, 2013.
A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta before whom the matter was posted on Thursday adjourned the matter as senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Rakesh Dwivedi representing the Bengal government were preoccupied with a special intensive revision (SIR) matter before a bench headed by the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
The respondents, the ration dealers on whose petition the high court had passed the impugned order, did not object to the adjournment.
Justice Nath, who dictating the order, said the matter would be heard on January 15.
On November 28, 2022, the Supreme Court had directed “status quo” on the Bengal government’s “Duare Ration Scheme” which on September 28, 2022, declared “null and void” and “ultra vires the National Food Security Act, 2013”, by Calcutta High Court.
Status quo, a Latin expression, refers to an order passed by a court directing the parties involved in a dispute to preserve the existing state of affairs.
A bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice M.M. Sundaresh said it was ordering “status quo” to ensure there was no inconvenience to common people, but had agreed to examine the larger issue involved.
The bench had referred to a similar policy adopted by the then Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi under the “Mukhyamantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana” which was struck down by Delhi High Court in May 2022.
The AAP government’s scheme was struck down by the high court on the grounds that it could not utilise the foodgrain supplied by the Centre for doorstep delivery, upholding petitions filed by two separate ration dealers’ organisations challenging the scheme as illegal.
The Centre too had opposed the Kejriwal government’s scheme.
In Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress had announced its plan to roll out the doorstep ration scheme in its election manifesto ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections. The scheme was among the first announcements that Mamata had made after becoming the chief minister for the third time in a row.
However, it was nullified by the division bench of Calcutta High Court, proving to be a setback to the state government.
Two petitions on behalf of the ration dealers’ association were filed before two separate single-bench judges, claiming the government’s plan to deliver ration on the doorstep curbed the right of the association members.
In separate verdicts, the single-bench judges had dismissed the petitions of the association, following which appeals were filed before the division bench.
The high court division bench had set aside the verdicts passed by the single benches. Its main legal point was whether the state, through its Duare Ration scheme, had exceeded its limits of delegation, and it had concluded that the state exceeded its limit of delegation. The state government moved the Supreme Court to challenge this order.