The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: More than 300 activists, lawyers, journalists and organisations working with the homeless and the marginalised people have issued a press statement strongly condemning the recent remarks made by Supreme Court judge B.R. Gavai regarding the issue of “freebies” while hearing a plea regarding the shelters for the urban homeless.
A bench of Justice B.R. Gavai and A.G. Masih were hearing a petition by E.R. Kumar when the former said that freebies were creating a “class of parasites”
“Sorry to say, but by not making these people part of mainstream society, are we not creating a class of parasites? Because of freebies, when elections are declared… people are not willing to work. They are getting free rations without doing any work! Would it not be better to make them part of mainstream society so that they can contribute to nation?” Justice Gavai had said.
When the petitioner and representing advocate, Prashant Bhushan argued this, he criticised them for making “political speeches” by saying that existing policies were designed for the rich.
Also read: ‘Freebies Creating a Class of Parasites, People Not Willing to Work’: Supreme Court Judge
“The remarks reflect an anti-poor bias in the judiciary. The homeless, who are the most vulnerable among the urban poor, form the backbone of the urban informal economy. They are engaged in hard labour including construction work, load carrying, sanitation work, catering in marriage parties, among others,” the statement read.
“Calling the homeless “parasites” who are unwilling to work on account of getting freebies is symptomatic of the callousness and insensitivity that is often a mark of the powerful and the privileged. Although, this is the least expected from a senior judge of the apex court that is tasked with protecting the human rights and liberties of all the citizens, particularly the most vulnerable, as enshrined in the Constitution of India,” it added.
“It is the responsibility of the society and the institutions of governance and justice that the lives of the most vulnerable are protected without blaming and shaming the victims. This must be a matter of national shame that we are not doing this while allowing the scores of preventable deaths of our city-makers,” the statement read.
In a separate open letter, former Rajya Sabha member Brinda Karat pointed out another statement by the judge where he cited “Ladki-Behen scheme”, a direct cash transfer benefit for women announced by several state governments, as “freebies” announced on the anvil of elections. “They are getting a free ration; they are getting an amount without doing any work. Why should they? Would it not be better to make them part of mainstream society? Permit them to contribute to the development of the nation,” Justice Gavai had said.
Addressing the judge, Karat wrote, “You have reportedly said that because of this money, people – in the case of women related schemes, it would be women – are not willing to work. This is factually incorrect since the large majority of women are already working—doing unpaid work – in the domestic sphere and also often unpaid work in family enterprises, including in agricultural operations. So the issue here is not that they are not working, but that they are working without any remuneration.”
“This unpaid work contribution of India’s women, which is a key to family survival, is among the highest in the world… Regretfully your reported comments add to this notion,” she added.
Regarding his mention of “free ration”, she said, “Perhaps the Honourable Justice is unaware of the facts. The free ration referred to is just 5 kgs an individual for the entire month that too consists only of cereals. This is less than the average individual cereal consumption in India estimated to be 9 kg a month. In fact, food inflation has been at an all time high, playing havoc with family budgets. India has the largest malnourished population in the world… In any case, no one can survive just on the free rations.”
Notably, Justice Gavai is known to have made similar comments regarding “freebies” in other hearings as well. On January 7, while hearing a matter on the payment of salaries and pensions of judicial officers, he had said, “The states have all the money for people who don’t do any work… Come elections you declare Ladli Behna and other new schemes where you pay fixed amounts. In Delhi, we have announcements now from some party or the other saying they will pay Rs 2,500 if they come to power.”
The Supreme Court is alos pending hearing on petitions regarding the issue of freebies. In 2022, the top court had directed the listing of pleas regarding the practice of political parties promising freebies before a three-judge bench.