The Delhi Government has defended before the Delhi High Court its decision to require eligible women seeking monthly financial assistance of ₹2,500 under the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana to obtain a recommendation from their local Member of Parliament or Member of the Legislative Assembly.
In an affidavit filed before the High Court, the Department of Women and Child Development stated that approximately 7.32 lakh applications had already been received bearing endorsements from the concerned MPs or MLAs. The Government relied on the volume of applications to contend that the requirement had not resulted in the kind of hardship alleged in the challenge to the scheme.
The response was filed in opposition to a petition instituted by former Congress councillor Abhishek Dutt and sitting councillor Vedpal Sheetal Chaudhary, who have questioned the legality of making an elected representative’s recommendation a prerequisite for availing benefits under the welfare scheme.
The Government maintained that the endorsement condition was not introduced arbitrarily. According to its affidavit, the requirement had already formed part of the proposal placed before the Council of Ministers. The Department stated that when the relevant Note for the Council of Ministers was prepared on July 17, the recommendation requirement had been incorporated into the proposed framework.
The Government further submitted that the provision underwent inter-departmental examination and was thereafter included in the guidelines approved by the Council of Ministers before the scheme was formally implemented.
Rejecting the challenge, the Government contended that the MP/MLA recommendation requirement was neither ultra vires the law nor manifestly arbitrary or capricious. It maintained that the condition had a legitimate administrative basis and was incorporated through the prescribed decision-making process.
The affidavit also sought to demonstrate that the use of recommendations or endorsements by elected representatives is not unprecedented in governmental welfare schemes. It referred to various schemes in which recommendations from MPs or MLAs have been contemplated, including pension-related assistance under the New Delhi Municipal Council, the Kashyap Scheme for Food and Shelter in Andhra Pradesh, the Odisha Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and the Dr Ambedkar Scheme relating to social integration through inter-caste marriages.
The Government further argued that no beneficiary had approached the Court complaining that the endorsement condition had prevented them from accessing the scheme. The receipt of more than 7.32 lakh endorsed applications, it submitted, demonstrated that the requirement was capable of being complied with and had not created the impediment alleged by the petitioners.
The Delhi Government has accordingly sought dismissal of the proceedings, questioning the maintainability and bona fides of the challenge. It has alleged in its response that the petition was motivated by publicity considerations and political opposition to the incumbent Government’s welfare initiatives. These are submissions advanced by the Government in the litigation and remain subject to adjudication by the High Court.
The proceedings place before the Delhi High Court a broader question concerning the administrative design of welfare schemes and whether access to statutory or executive benefits can lawfully be made contingent upon an endorsement by an elected political representative.
The Court’s determination will turn on the statutory and constitutional basis of the impugned condition, the manner in which the scheme was framed and the Government’s justification for requiring an MP or MLA recommendation as part of the application process.
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