ALLAHABAD : Any member of a family can get ration from fair price shops, not just the head of the household.The high court disposed of a petition on Tuesday seeking directions that all members of the family should be allowed to take ration under the public distribution system , when the state government submitted that it had directed the district magistrates to link the Aadhaar number of all beneficiaries of the family with their ration card. The DMs were also told to make sure that any member of the family could get ration and not just the head of the household.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale and Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta disposed of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Rakesh Saini and six others, all members of nagar palika parishad, Kandhla of Shamli district, when the when the state government placed a circular to the DMs before the court. Petitioners' plea was that National Food Security Act, 2013 provides that eldest women of a family will be treated as head of a household and Aadhaar number of all beneficiaries of household should be linked with ration cards.In 2016, State government introduced Electronic Point of Supply Machine Scheme (e-pos), after which thumb of the head of the household was to be scanned before distribution of ration.Petitioners counsel Ankur Sharma argued that the Act provides linking of Aadhaar of all the members of household but administration is linking Aadhaar of only head of the household. Therefore, such an act of district administration is in violation of Act.Since head of a household in most of the cases is eldest women. Therefore, many a times due to old age, she is not in a position to go to the fair price shop. Hence, Aadhaar of all the family members must be linked with the ration cards, the counsel argued. During the court proceedings, the state government on July 11, 2017 sought some time to take appropriate action on this issue. After which, the court adjourned the hearing. On Tuesday, the state government placed a circular issued by commissioner, food and civil supply department, UP directing district magistrates to link database of all the members of household and not just head of the household and distribute ration to any member of the family.

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