Food is a fundamental human right, and it isn’t something that can be merely a matter of charity. The government must guarantee the Right to Food to all its citizens, and when the State or government cannot secure it, it’s a grave violation of the rights of citizens.
There is a concept of legitimate expectation that has been affirmed by the judiciary several times. It implies that, due to regular practice over time or an explicit promise made by the authority responsible, the person must have a legitimate expectation of being treated in a specific manner by the administrative authorities. And should the government’s rules not want or are incapable of meeting the demands of the public in terms of Food or any other reasonable expectation of the citizens, then the government violates what is rightfully expected of people.
India is in the middle of an issue regarding Hunger. It has been placed 94th of 107 nations on the Global Hunger Index 2020 and is classified as severe The hunger category has a score of 27.2. The most exciting thing is the fact that just 13 nations suffer from more Hunger than India which includes countries like Rwanda (97), Nigeria (98), Afghanistan (99), Liberia (102), Mozambique (103), and Chad (107) as well as other countries. India ranks as the second largest behind Nepal (73), Pakistan (88), Bangladesh(75), and Indonesia(70), as well as many others. In the study, 14 percent of India’s total population remains hungry.
Right To Food Under Different International Declarations
- Universal Declaration on Human Rights [ii]
- The Right to Food was acknowledged as a human right in the year 1948 by the UDHR, and Article 25 of the UDHR is:
- Every person has the right to an adequate standard of life to ensure his and his family’s health and well-being, including Food, clothing, housing, medical and social services. It also has the Right to secure living in the situation of unemployment, illness, widowhood, disability, old age, or any other unforeseen hardships in circumstances that are beyond its control.
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) also included the Right to Food in Article 11, and all signatory countries, including India, committed to taking steps to guarantee the Right to eat to everyone. [iii]
- Right to Food for All guidelines were approved by members of the FAO council in 2004.
- 2009 In 2009 2009, in the Declaration of the world food summit on food security, states renewed their commitment to ensuring an adequate diet for everyone.
- Various international and national organizations have endorsed many other guidelines and declarations to ensure adequate Food to all without discrimination.
Right To Food Under The Constitution Of India
Constitutional law in India doesn’t explicitly refer to the Right to eat. Still, there are provisions in the constitution suggesting that the form’s authors wanted to provide the availability of Food to all.
- Right to live ( Section 21)
- Article 21 in the Indian constitution places a responsibility for the State to safeguard the lives of its citizens and noncitizens of India. In article 21, the Indian body gives the Right to live, and this Right doesn’t just mean physical existence; instead, it refers to living with human respect and dignity, which is having access to all the things that are essential to living healthy, wholesome and dignified life for a human being, and this is clearly in various decisions of the Supreme Court of India.
- This means that the Right to Food can be a fundamental right guaranteed by Article 21 in the Indian Constitution, as in the famous decision of Maneka Gandhi. Union of India[iv[iv] in which the Supreme Court, while delivering the decision, said:
- The Right to life, as defined in Article 21, is beyond animal instinct. It is a right that includes living in dignity and respect for others. It will comprise all the elements that make life meaningful, complete, and live.
- In the matter in Shantistar Builders v. Narayan Khimalal Totame[vthe Supreme Court stated that basic human needs have historically been classified into three categories: clothing, Food, and shelter.
- The Right to live is guaranteed in every civilized society. It includes rights to Food and clothes, decent living conditions, and an acceptable home. There are many other instances in which the Supreme Court has reiterated that the Right to Life doesn’t mean only physical existence but can encompass all the other elements humans need to live.
- Directive Principles Of the State Policy- Article 39(a) and Article 47
- The Indian Constitution’s Article 39(a) in the Indian Constitution reads as:
- The State should mainly guide its policies to ensure that female and male citizens have access to a decent source for a decent life.
- Article 47 is interpreted as:
- The State should consider the improvement of the quality of nutrition as well as the standard of living for its inhabitants and the improvement in public health as one of its primary responsibilities; more specifically, the State will strive to stop the consumption, except for medicinal reasons of intoxicating beverages and of other drugs that can be harmful to health.
- While Directive Principles under Part IV of the Constitution weren’t legally enforceable, as at the time India could not provide the resources to meet the requirements, Article 37 of Part IV reads the following: The provisions of this Part will not be legally binding by any court. However, the principles laid out in them are still fundamental to the administration of the country, and it is the responsibility of the State to adhere to these principles when making laws. This means the State can implement these rules and regulations on the subjects under Part IV. DPSP aims to achieve DPSP to improve the living, livelihood, and economic well-being of the people to ensure that people within the community can lead an active and healthy life.
Conclusion
In addition to these cases, the National Human Rights Commission has adopted the view that the Right not to be subject to Hunger, i.e., the Right to a healthy diet, is an element of the fundamental rights[ix[ix]. The constitution’s Article 21 India is to be interpreted as a reference to Articles 39(a) and 47 in the Indian form. The argument was built on the National Human Rights Commission’s interpretation of the Right to eat.
In the same report in the same statement, the Commission explicitly stated:
There is a fundamental right to be free of Hunger. The supreme justice of the nation has repeatedly interpreted it in numerous cases related to Article 21. They also issued instructions that directly or indirectly supported the Right to Food, which is now declared an inherent right of the constitution, and the government is continually reminded of its obligation, which is no way to escape it. The following is said to be true:
Hunger is a lot more significant than simply not having a meal. So, the government should be held accountable when individuals don’t get enough Food and nutrition to support their families, according to the discussion and observations of the Supreme Court.
