CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH BIHAR

SCHOOL OF LAW AND GOVERNANCE

UNDER THE GUIDENCE OF Ms. Poonam Kumari

TOPIC –
Vikram Deo Singh Tomar vs. State of Bihar

SUBMITTED BY:-

NAME - SANJEET KUMAR SINGH

COURSE - B.A.LL.B. (HONS.)

COURSE NAME - Human Rights Law & Practice (LAW 552)

SEMESTER - X SEMESTER

ENROLLMENT NO - CUSB1613125044

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my professor Ms. Poonam

Kumari who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic

“Vikram Deo Singh Tomar v. State of Bihar ” , which also helped me in doing a lot of
research and I came to know about human rights law and practices and human rights

jurisprudence. I am really thankful to them.

Secondly I would also like to thank my parents and friends who helped me a lot in finishing

this project within the limited time.

I am making this project not only for marks but to also increase my knowledge .

Thanks again to all who helped me.

INDEX
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INTRODUCTION 4

ISSUE 6

HOW HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATION IN THE CARE HOME? 7

MALADMINISTRATION OF THE CARE HOME 7

INHUMAN TREATMENT OF INMATES 7

POOR SANITATION & WATER FACILITY 8

HUMAN RIGHT JURISPRUDENCE UNDER INDIAN CONSTITUTION 9

COURT BLATANT REMARK ON MALADMINISTRATION BY THE STATE GOVERNMENT 12

COURT REJECTED RESPONDENT SUBMISSION 12

JUDGEMENT : REMEDY BY THE HON’BLE COURT 13

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE JUDGEMENT 14

INTRODUCTION

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Vikram Deo Singh Tomar  ……………..………PETITIONER

State of Bihar……………………………………RESPONDENT

Decided On, 02 August 1988 At, Supreme Court of India

BENCH

HON'BLE JUSTICE R. S. PATHAK (CJI)

HON'BLE JUSTICE L. M. SHARMA AND

HON'BLE JUSTICE N. D. OJHA

In response to a complaint about the conditions of the public Care Home, the Supreme Court
of India ordered the state government of Bihar to take immediate steps for the welfare of women
and children living in the home. It directed the state to provide suitable alternative
accommodation for housing the inmates of the home; to renovate the home; and to provide
adequate water and electricity, a suitable range of furniture, adequate clothing, blankets, and
sheets, as well as soap, oil, and other toilet requisites. It also ordered a Superintendent to be
appointed and a doctor to visit the home daily. It commented that the "right to live with human
dignity is the fundamental right of every Indian citizen" and that the State must abide by
"constitutional standards" and provide "at least the minimum conditions ensuring human
dignity."

Article 15 of the Indian constitution states that –“the state shall not make any discrimination on
the basis of religion, race, caste, sex, etc.” This article is an application of the general principle
incorporated in Article 14. However, as an exception to article 15 sub-clause (3) of the article
provides that state can make provisions for women and children. The article says “nothing in this
article shall prevent the state from making any provisions related to women and children”. The
inclusion of Article 15(3) has affixed under the concept of ‘protective discrimination’ in the
Indian Constitution and has strengthened the gender that has been discriminated a lot. It also

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permits the state to make provisions for children thereby understanding that children are the
mainstay of the country.1 The physical structure of women and also the maternal functions
performed by her keeps her at a disadvantage in her sustenance, struggle and overall physical
well-being and therefore a need was felt that some special provisions to be made for her. Thus
there are a certain number of Articles in the Indian Constitution that keep her at a special place
and that won’t amount to infringement of Article 15.

ISSUE

1
http://lawtimesjournal.in/how-is-state-bound-to-make-any-special-provision-in-favour-of-women-and-children-
by-virtue-of-article-15/

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This writ petition arose upon a letter received from a voluntary organisation alleging that the
female inmates of a `Care Home' in Bihar were compelled to live in inhuman conditions.
Pursuant to a direction made by the court, the District Judge, Patna visited the `Care Home' and
submitted a report on the conditions actually prevailing there.

Situation of the care home was detrimental to human condition for living a dignified life as
guaranteed under Art. 21 of the constitution.

HOW HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATION IN THE CARE HOME?

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  This writ petition arises upon a letter received from the Yuva Adhivakta Kalyan Samiti,
Sasaram, District Rohtas (Bihar). Among other things, it is alleged in the letter that the
female inmates of the "Care Home", Patna (Bihar) are compelled to live in inhuman
conditions in an old dilapidated building, that they are ill-treated, provided food which is
both insufficient and of poor quality, and that no medical attention is afforded to them.
 On 18 November, 1987 this Court issued notice to the Superintendent of the Home, the
District Magistrate, Patna and the State of Bihar and simultaneously ordered the learned
District Judge, Patna to visit the Home and submit a report on the conditions actually
prevailing there in the context of the allegations contained in the letter.

MALADMINISTRATION OF THE CARE HOME

 The learned District Judge has submitted his report. He states that the "Care Home" is
managed by the Welfare Department of the State Government under the administrative
control of the Deputy Director, Welfare, Patna, that although there is provision for a full
time Superintendent no full time Superintendent has been appointed, and instead the
District Welfare officer, Smt. M.B. Verma, who is posted at Arrah, is in dual charge of
the "Care Home".
 The staff includes two whole time matrens, two male clerks and two night Guards and
recently three Supervisors have been attached to the Home.
 There are three teachers and one senior Instructress for imparting vocational training.
 He points out that thirty inmates recently escaped from the "Care Home" and now three
Home Guards have been posted.

INHUMAN TREATMENT OF INMATES

 His report discloses a sorry state of affairs. He points out that the building in which the
inmates are housed is a century old dilapidated house rented for the purpose. The
building is absolutely uninhabitable and unsafe, and during the rainy season the roof
leaks almost at every point.
 Five small damp and dirty rooms with no windows are used to accommodate twenty five
inmates, while the remaining women have to sleep in an open verandah.
 Only a few of the women have been provided with blankets and cots.

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 He reports that whereas the capacity of the "Care Home" is over one hundred, the Deputy
Superintendent admitted before him that there were only twenty five thin blankets.
 Most of the inmates were compelled to sleep on the broken floor without even a sheet to
cover themselves.
 There was no woollen clothing at all, nor were they provided with soap or oil.

 The diet provided to them cost Rs.5 per day and was hardly adequate to sustain them.

POOR SANITATION & WATER FACILITY

 As regards toilet facilities, he says that there is one municipal tap outside in the open,
which also was not in proper working order.
 There was acute scarcity of water. One hand-pump had been installed in the previous
month.
 Three dilapidated lavatories existed far away from the main apartment.

 There was no bathroom or toilet inside the apartment and the inmates had to go out in the
night to the distant toilets.
 The report discloses further that the inmates stated that they were often beaten up in case
they complained before the authorities, and most of them expressed a desire to be set free
to earn their livelihood or to return to their families.
 Twelve lunatic inmates had been transferred to the Ranchi Mental Asylum, and eleven children
had been sent to the Bal Bhawan, Deoghar.
 The majority of the inmates were major? five of them being deaf and dumb. All of them
were in protective custody by the order of various judicial and executive magistrates of
the State. There was no regular visit by any physician, the last visit of a doctor having
taken place almost two months before.

HUMAN RIGHT JURISPRUDENCE UNDER INDIAN CONSTITUTION

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India is a welfare State governed by a Constitution which holds the pride of place in the hearts of
its citizens. It lays special emphasis on the protection and well-being of the weaker sections of
society and seeks to improve their economic and social status on the basis of constitutional
guarantees spelled out in its provisions. It shows a particular regard for women and children, and
notwithstanding the pervasive ethos of the doctrine of equality it contemplates special provision
being made for them by law. This is only to be expected when an enlightened constitutional
system takes charge of the political and socio-economic governance of a society, which has for
centuries witnessed the relegation of women to a place far below their due. We live in an age
when this Court has demonstrated, while interpreting Article 21 of the Constitution, that every
person is entitled to a quality of life consistent with his human personality. The right to live with
human dignity is the fundamental right of every Indian citizen. And. so, in the discharge of its
responsibilities to the people, the State recognises the need for maintaining establishments for the
care of those unfortunates, both women and children, who are the castaways of an imperfect
social order and for whom, therefore, of necessary provision must be made for their protection
and welfare. Both common humanity and considerations of law and order require the State to do
so. Gender equality principle is also enshrined in the preamble of the constitution and so in the
fundamental rights, fundamental duties and Directive Principle of State Policy. 2

The constitution along with granting equal rights to both men and women it gives the state to
make special provisions for the betterment of women and by the virtue of Article 15(3) state
government and central government both have made laws for the furtherance of women. 3 India
had also been a signatory of International conventions related to women and has ratified many
laws regarding the same too. For the emancipation of women in all area and for the improvement
of the condition Indian Government has passed an end number of laws, the major ones being-
The Special Marriage Act, 1954, The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976Commission of Sati
(Prevention) Act, 1987 The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, The
Maternity Benefit Act, The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act and many more. In the case
of Vishakaha v. the State Of Rajasthan4, It was held that there is a need to provide a safe

2
Riya Jain, Article 21 of the Constitution of India – Right to Life and Personal Liberty (Available at
https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/article-21-of-the-constitution-of-india-right-to-life-and-personal-liberty/)
3
Article 15, The Contitution of India, 1950.
4
Vishaka & Ors vs State Of Rajasthan & Ors AIR 1997 SC 3011

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environment to women employees’ free form sexual harassment and the court for the first time
invoked an International covenant to which India was a signatory of.

Article 21 A provides for the right to education to all children aged 14-16 years. In the case,
Unnikrishnan J.P, and others v. State of Andhra Pradesh 5 and other Supreme Court held that
“Right to education is included in the right to life”

Article 24 ensures the protection of the child from any hazardous employment.

Whereas Article 23 provides the right to the children to be protected from being trafficked and
6
forced into bonded labour. M.C.Mehta v. State of T.N “ The Court issued wide-ranging
directions in the context of employment and exploitation of children in Sivakasi prohibiting
employment of children below the age of 14 and making arrangements for their education by
creating a fund and providing employment to the parents or able-bodied adults in the family”.

Article 39 (f)) states the Right to equal opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner
and in conditions of freedom and dignity and guaranteed protection of childhood and youth
against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment. In Labourers Working on
Salal Hydro Project v. State of J. & K. 7The court held that and children below 14 years cannot
be employed in construction work as it is hazardous employment. Article 24 makes it obligatory
for the state to protect the economic, social and humanitarian rights of millions of children
working in factories and such other workplaces.

In another case of Gaurav Jain v Union of India8, The Supreme Court directed the states to take
measures related to the children of prostitutes as they also have the right to equality, and life and
right to live with dignity.” There are various other cases where the judiciary took cognizance of
this matter and has guided the states and central government to make certain policies for the
security of the rights of children.

5
Unnikrishnan J.P, and others v. State of Andhra Pradesh 1993 AIR 2178
6
M.C.Mehta v. State of T.N , (1996) 6 SCC 756
7
Labourers Working on Salal Hydro Project v. State of J. & K. (1984) 3 SCC 538
8
Gaurav Jain v Union of India, AIR 1997 SC 3021

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There is an abundant number of Acts made for safeguarding the interest of children. Some of the
radical ones are- The Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, 2019,
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, the juvenile justice (care and protection of children)
Act, 2015, The Commissions For Protection of Child Rights Amendment Act, 2006, etc.

Women and Children are the backbones of our nation. The stoicism women took and the
vulnerability she has faced makes it necessary for the government to adopt certain measures of
positive discrimination so that the socio-economic, political and other disadvantages faced by her
can be neutralized. Whereas Children as aforementioned are the future of the nation. As ‘Justice
Bhagwati’ has rightly quoted “the child is a soul with a being, a nature and capacities of its own,
who must be helped to find them, to grow into the maturity, into fullness on physical and vital
energy and most breadth, depth and height of its emotional, intellectual and spiritual being.” 9
They need guidance and care and support and thus there is a need for eradication of social evil
prevalent these days to safeguard their interest. Thus talking as a whole for the advancement of
the nation and economy the government must make laws regarding the welfare of women and
children and also should check whether their implementation is being done aptly or not as the
final affirmation can only be done if there are implementation and national cooperation.

COURT BLATANT REMARK ON MALADMINISTRATION BY THE STATE GOVERNMENT

9
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/257/Child-Labour-in-Indian-Society.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe
%20child%20is%20a%20soul,a%20healthy%20growth%20of%20the

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To abide by the constitutional standards recognised by well-accepted principle, it is incumbent
upon the State when assigning women and children to these establishments, euphemistically
described as "Care Home", to provide at least the minimum conditions ensuring human dignity.
What we see before us in the instant case is a crowded hovel, in which a large number of human
beings have been thrown together, compelled to subsist in conditions of animal survival,
conditions which blatantly deny their basic humanity. How else shall we describe an
establishment where women are detained in miserable conditions, compelling most of them to
sleep on broken floors, in damp and dank conditions, with no covering whatever to protect them
from the chill wind and near freezing temperatures of the north Indian winter, who are fed a
wretched health-denying diet, are denied the basic amenities of convenient toilets and a private
bathing place, who, if they complain, are beaten up, and although attacked by disease and illness
are unable to find timely medical relief. It is clear that the Welfare Department of the State
Government of Bihar views its responsibilities in regard to these women with a lightness which
ill befits its existence and the public funds appropriated to it.

The name of "Care Home" given to these establishments is an ironic misnomer. The primitive
conditions in which the inmates are compelled to live shock the conscience.

COURT REJECTED RESPONDENT SUBMISSION

COURT observed that, “The counter affidavit filed on behalf of the Welfare Department of the
State Government seeks to minimise and gloss over the deplorable conditions faced by the
inmates, and the presence of many of the facilities alleged to exist cannot be accepted in the face
of the report of the learned District Judge. The affidavit, sworn by the Assistant Director (Social
Welfare), does not disclose that he visited the home personally. The facts seem to have been
supplied to him by others. The report of the learned District Judge, on the contrary, is the report
of an objective neutral observer who took the trouble of visiting the place himself. We have
every reason to prefer the facts set out in his report.

JUDGEMENT : REMEDY BY THE HON’BLE COURT

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 Hon’ble Court directed the State Government to provide suitable alternative
accommodation expeditiously for housing the inmates of the present "Care Home".
 It is said that the State Government has given two acres of land near the Ganga bridge at
Patna to the Welfare Department for putting up a complex as a "Care Home" and for
shifting to it such inmates as are also housed in a Government building. It is stated that
the Welfare Department has sanctioned 31.10 lakhs for establising a Care Home in the
building and that Rs. 12 lakhs have been allocated for constructing the building. We do
not know how long it will take for the new building to be ready. It is necessary
meanwhile to put the existing building, in which the inmates are presently housed, into
proper order immediately, and for that purpose to renovate the building and provide
sufficient amenities by way of living rooms, bathrooms and toilets within the building,
and also to provide adequate water and electricity.
 A suitable range of furniture including Cots must be provided at once, and an adequate
number of blankets and sheets, besides clothing, must be supplied to the inmates.
 Court relied on measures provided by the Welfare Department, that has stated that the
allowance of the inmates is being increased from Rs. 150 per month to Rs. 200 per month and
that besides they will be provided such amenities as Soap, oil and other toilet requisites. The
Welfare Department of the State Government will take immediate steps to comply with the
directions we have framed for the welfare of the inmates of the Care Home.
 Court directed the Welfare Department further to appoint a full time Superintendent to take care
of the Home, and to ensure that a Doctor visits the Home daily.
 Court asked The Welfare Department to submit a report within one month from date of judgment
detailing the particulars of these cases and mentioning the judicial or executive authority
concerned(upon whose order inmates have been committed to the care home) to the High Court,
and the High Court will thereupon issue necessary instructions to the pertinent District authority
for taking appropriate steps in the different cases for their early disposal.
 Court made it clear, however, that in the event of no, or insufficient, compliance being made with
this order, we will have no hesitation in reopening the case for such further steps as may be
considered necessary for enforcing this order.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE JUDGEMENT

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This judgement highlights the pro-active role of Indian judiciary committed to the protection of basic
human right and fundamental rights of the citizen. Indian constitution has embodied basic principles o
human right as fundamental right under the constitution of India. Article 21 sought to protect life and
liberty of the citizen as well as non citizen. From time to time Supreme court has expanded the ambit of
art. 21. It not only cover life and liberty but it seeks to ensure dignified life with all the basic necessity for
every person. In this case inmates of the care home were subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment.
They were forced to sleep on the ground without even sheets and body cover. There was no any adequate
facility for sanitation, toilet and potable water. They were victim of malnutrition because of poor quality
of food.

Court adopted proactive approach and issued guideline to be followed to provide basic necessities of life,
proper medical facility, sanitation and drinking water. But the problem lies with the authorities
responsible for administration of such care home. It seems that they have divorced their responsibility and
duty for which they are appointed. It is loophole of the administration due to which thousands of girls and
children are victim of inhuman and degrading treatment. In such cases authority responsible should be
held personally liable and stringent action should be taken against officials responsible for such incidence.
Until and unless we will held them personally liable they won’t take the pain to discharge their duty
efficiently and diligently.

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