Delhi High Court Questions MP, MLA Endorsement Rule for Delhi Lakshmi Yojana
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday questioned the Delhi government’s decision to mandate an endorsement from a local MP or MLA for women applying for financial assistance under the ‘Delhi Lakshmi Yojana’ in Delhi. The scheme provides financial assistance of ₹2,500 a month to eligible women.
A Bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia observed that such an endorsement could not be justified when applicant eligibility can be verified through other documents. Directing the government counsel to seek instructions on the matter, the court scheduled the next hearing for August 24.
“Seek instructions. We can’t approve of it,” the Bench told the government counsel during the hearing. The court noted that the scheme outlines detailed eligibility conditions but contains no official requirement for an endorsement letter from legislators.
“We are of a prima facie view that in assessing as to whether a woman fulfils the criteria, various documents can be asked for. It is possible that a woman may or may not get the endorsement of the MP/MLA of her constituency. In any case, the scheme does not mention any requirement of an endorsement letter,” the Bench observed.
The matter reached the court through a public interest litigation filed by former Congress councillor Abhishek Dutt and sitting councillor Vedpal Sheetal Chaudhary. The petitioners argued that making letters from local MPs or MLAs compulsory granted political representatives unbridled discretion, turning a welfare entitlement into a tool for political patronage.
According to the plea, the scheme came into operation on August 1 when the Delhi government opened an online registration portal. The petitioners stated that the portal made submitting a recommendation letter from the concerned legislator a mandatory step for registration, leaving applicants without any grievance redressal mechanism if a representative refused the endorsement.
The petition seeks the formulation of objective, transparent, and non-arbitrary guidelines to verify eligibility and disburse funds without political interference.
Under the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana, the eldest eligible woman in a family aged between 21 and 60 years with an annual family income of up to ₹2.5 lakh is eligible. The applicant, her parents, or her husband must have resided in Delhi for at least 10 years, and the applicant must be a registered voter in the national capital.
The scheme excludes income-tax payers, government employees, and women already receiving benefits under other financial assistance or pension schemes. Families owning a four-wheeler, consuming more than 2,400 units of electricity annually, having more than three living children, or having a family member in government service or facing a criminal case are also excluded.
