Begging not crime in Delhi: HC junks law that 'violates fundamental rights'

Begging in the national capital will no more be treated as an offence with the Delhi High Court on Thursday quashing the legal provisions that criminalises it, holding that people beg on the streets not because of their wish but as a "last resort" to meet their needs.

Criminalising begging violates the most fundamental rights of some of the most vulnerable people in our society. the court said, as it blamed the state for not being able to ensure even the bare essentials of the right to life to all its citizens.

The court further said criminalising begging was a wrong approach to deal with the underlying causes of the problem and it ignored the reality that people who beg were the poorest and marginalised in society.

Observing that begging is a symptom of a disease, a bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said people beg on the streets not because of wish but due to needs and begging is their last resort to subsistence.