New Delhi, Oct 29 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Thursday objected to the discrimination against beggars from other states and said it should be stopped.
Hearing a a public interest petition filed by social activist Harsh Mander, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S.Muralidhar said: “The beggars are facing discrimination like what other people are facing in Maharashtra.”

“We should stop discriminating against beggars of other states and should see how we can improve their condition,” the bench said, asking the additional solicitor general to inform the court, by Nov 9, of what action the government is proposing to curb begging.

The court also asked the government to tell it what it was doing to educate the children of beggars living in shelter homes in the capital.

“If a person is destitute and begs for living, such a person cannot be treated as a criminal. He cannot be arrested or sentenced,” said Mander, who contended poverty can never be a crime and referred to the plight of a destitute who was jailed and sentenced for begging.

He also challenged the constitutional validity of the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act.

Mander’s counsel informed the court about the US method of tackling the menace, and noted that in that country the beggars are constitutionally protected and provided all basic facilities needed to live.

Citing Delhi’s example where beggars were allegedly living in the worst possible conditions, counsel said the beggars’ homes were in a bad shape and the government was paying only Rs.75 a day for their food and clothing, which is not sufficient.

“Moreover, the inhuman conditions in the homes forces beggars not to stay there,” the counsel added.