The Hindu : National : Notice to Centre, U.P. on Kargil widows' plea

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Tuesday, Sep 07, 2004

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National

Notice to Centre, U.P. on Kargil widows' plea

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 6. The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Central and the Uttar Pradesh Governments on a petition seeking a directive to fulfil the promise of welfare packages made to the widows of the martyrs of Kargil war.

A Bench of Justice Santosh Hegde and Justice S.B. Sinha issued the notice after asking the petitioner, Jyotsna Dwivedi, to widen the scope of the public interest litigation petition to cover all war widows.

`Promises not kept'

When the Bench asked the petitioner why she wanted to confine the scope of the petition only to the Kargil War widows, she said she had approached the court to seek protection to these widows as the war had not only devastated the families of many brave soldiers, but had also brought out the question of rehabilitation of their families due to non-implementation of welfare packages and rehabilitation promises.

The promised packages included benefits of allotment of petrol pumps and land.

The petitioner alleged that still over 40 per cent widows had not received any benefit from the government and they were running from pillar to post.

She had sought enforcement of the fundamental rights of the war widows under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution through appropriate directions so that the promises made for rehabilitation were promptly implemented.

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