ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court Tuesday rejected the report of ministry of national food security and research on monthly expenditure of a six-member family.
Dr Shakeel Ahmed Khan, food security commissioner at ministry of national food security and research, submitted the reports. According to one report, a family of three adults and one minor can survive in Rs 5,530 for a month, while the other report said that Rs 6,200 were enough for two adult and two minor per month.
These amounts did not include the other basic factors i.e. electricity, water, gas bills, travelling cost, school fees, clothing, house rent and number of other items, which are necessary for a reasonable life with dignity.
A two-judge bench headed by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and comprising Justice Mushir Alam hearing Jamaat-e-Islami petition on upsurge in flour price rejected the report, saying it was based on the old Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, which were outdated.
The representative of lady health workers, Bushra Aarain, on the directive of the court also informed that according to their calculation monthly budget for the survival of four adults and two minors was Rs 14,858.
Justice Jawwad S Khawaja said that the governments of provinces and the federation were responsible to ensure fundamental rights for the citizens under the constitution. The principal policy, in Article 38 (a) of the constitution says, "The state shall secure the well-being of the people."
In the last hearing the court had constituted committees for the four provinces, Additional Attorney General Attique Shah, the petitioner counsel Taufiq Asif and the advocate generals of all provinces. The committees as per the direction of the court visited the four provinces.
The committees also submitted the reports based on the field trips. The reports show that the fundamental rights to life, given in article 9, and life of dignity under article 14 of the constitution were not ensured to a substantial number of citizens. The chief law officers of the provinces also accepted this fact.
The court noted that it would be appropriate if the empirical data, based on professional and scientific reports, were placed before the bench.
The case was adjourned till May 2, 2014. On the next hearing the court will hear about the actions the federal and the provincial governments have taken to alleviate the abject condition of the citizens.